Raising Sammy and Gabriel
by Krisuvial
Summary: Sam refuses to be Lucifer's vessel, so Lucifer steps up his game. By turning Sam into a baby he can personally make sure Sam turns into the person he wants him to be. Gabriel, trying to save Sam, ends up as a toddler. Now Dean and Castiel have to raise their brothers, fight the Apocalypse, and try to find a way to reverse Lucifer's curse. There is one way, but no one will like it..
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! I'm back and with a Supernatural fic to get back into this. Pretty excited 'cuz I've only been into this show for a year now and have been wanting to write a fic for it for a while!**

**To start off: I got the idea for this from ****afaithfulwriter890's story Dean's Babysitting Hell. It's really funny and gave me inspiration to write this!**

**This story doesn't really fit into the Supernatural time line all that much. It sort of takes place during season five, with the whole apocalypse fiasco, but Gabriel is much more involved with the boys as opposed to the real story. And they already have the bunker. It's more of an AU I guess. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Dean, this feels... off," Castiel murmured as he and Dean entered an abandoned warehouse.

"Shut up, Cas," Dean whispered angrily. Cas glanced over at the hunter. He was nervous. They'd come to the warehouse on the word of a traitor demon once loyal to Lucifer. Apparently this is where the ex-angel had taken Sam. "I can't believe Gabriel never showed."

Gabriel had promised to help find Sam. He'd taken an interest in the boy, especially since it was this boy who would pretty much decide the fate of humankind. But they hadn't heard from the arch-angel in four days, even when Dean prayed for him to show up. Castiel was worried about his brother, but it wasn't too unlike Gabriel to up and vanish like this. After all, he was also the Trickster. Still, he kept promises he made. Especially when it came to Sam. Which meant something happened to him.

The boys entered a large room, completely empty, that had three possible exits. Splitting up would be a bad decision here, where there may or may not be countless demons ready to kill them.

"I guess we start left, sweep that side of the building, and if we don't find them, try the..." Dean began.

They heard a scream. Dean's eyes widened, fear coursing through his veins. He knew that scream all too well.

"C'mon!"

They ran to the scream. It led them down a few halls and then down a staircase. Castiel found it odd that there were no demons anywhere. Normally they would have had to cut through dozens of them to get this close to Lucifer, of all people. But there were none.

The screaming stopped as they reached two wooden doors. Dean tried the handles, but of course they were locked. He rolled his shoulders and then slammed into the door. Two more times and they were in.

The room was dim, but both men could see just fine. The first thing- person- Castiel saw was his brother Gabriel, but he was the size of a child. There was a piece of tape over his mouth and he was tied down to a chair. Castiel met Gabriel's eyes and his older-younger brother flicked them over to the right. With a frown Castiel turned his attention away from Gabriel.

"What the..." Dean mumbled, seeing Gabriel as a child, no more than three or four.

"Dean," Cas breathed. "I think I found Sam..."

Dean turned his head. Lucifer was lounging on a couch, holding a baby in his arms. "Hello boys."

"What did you do to them?" Dean demanded. His brother looked to be about five or six months old.

Lucifer smirked. "Can you really not tell?"

Castiel took a deep breath. "Change them back."

Lucifer ignored him, eyes trained on Dean. Castiel took this opportunity to slowly back over to the wall. "I've decided that, since Sammy here refuses to be my vessel, he needs to suffer until he will agree. I hadn't meant for Gabriel to fall into my spell, but he happened to show up at the wrong time, trying to take little Sammy away from me. Anyways, it's so much easier to deal with a three-year-old with limited powers than a true arch-angel. Now I can raise Sammy boy up the way I want, training him to be my vessel."

"I don't think that'll be happening," Castiel decreed. He raised his hand and slammed it against the wall, finishing the Enochian sigil that would banish Lucifer long enough to get them all to safety.

Lucifer vanished and Sam started crying. Dean rushed over and gathered up his (literally) baby brother in his arms. Castiel freed Gabriel, relieved he hadn't been banished along with Lucifer.

Gabriel stretched slowly, trying to revive his sore muscles. He sat down on the dirt floor and started crying as pain shot through them.

Dean's eyes widened. "Cas..."

"This isn't good," Castiel breathed. "I had no idea Lucifer had this kind of power. Not in that vessel, at least."

"How do we fix it?" Dean wondered, rocking Sam. His brother stopped crying.

"I'm not sure..." Castiel admitted. He cocked his head to the side and glared. "Gabriel! You are an Angel of the Lord! Stop this crying and act like an adult!"

Gabriel looked up through tear-filled eyes and cried harder. Dean cursed. "Dammit, Cas, they're _children _now. You can't talk to them like they're grown-ups."

Dean walked over to the two angels. "C'mon, Gabe, wanna go home?"

Gabriel looked up and sniffled. He nodded, reaching his arms up. Dean grimaced, then picked him up as well, shifting Sam. "Damn, I'm gonna have to get car seats and crap like that."

"We can't just treat them like kids, Dean," Castiel stated, following the hunter back outside. "They're not kids. They're adults. Gabriel's thousands of years old."

"Well, they're children now, Cas," Dean snapped. "Kid's bodies, kid's brains. We treat them like kids now, got it? Until we figure out how to turn them into their-selves again."

Castiel sighed. "There's a town not far from here that has a Wal-Mart."

"That's the spirit," Dean mumbled. He was not looking forward to this, taking care of baby Sam (again) and now toddler Gabriel too.

They reached the car. Castiel opened the back door. "I guess I should sit back here and hold Sam..."

Dean nodded. Castiel climbed in and Dean handed over his baby brother. Sam started crying immediately in the unsteady hands of the human-angel. Dean buckled Gabriel in, gritting his teath.

"At least Lucifer gave them decent clothing," Dean mumbled as he started up his car. It was true. Sam had a diaper and baby-sized clothes. Gabriel was wearing slightly-too-large pants and a t-shirt.

As the pulled onto the highway, Castiel turned his attention from the crying baby to Gabriel. "Gabriel, can you tell me what happened?" He tried to keep his voice friendly and light, but he had no prior experience with children.

Gabriel look up. "Lucifer changed us," he said, his voiced scared and tired. Sam's crying quieted at the sound of Gabriel's voice.

Castiel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know that already."

"Watch your tone," Dean warned from the front. "I don't want him crying too."

"Where we goin'?" Gabriel wondered.

"Wal-Mart," Dean answered.

"Why?" Gabriel asked.

"We need to get stuff," Dean answered.

"I'm hungry," Gabriel stated.

"We'll get dinner soon," Dean promised.

"I'm hungry _now_," Gabriel whined.

"Gabriel! Shut up!" Castiel exclaimed. Gabriel started crying again. Sam cried louder.

"Dammit, Cas!" Dean groaned. An idea popped into his mind. "Hey, Gabe."

Gabriel looked over at Dean, his face a mix of tears and snot. "Yeah, Dean?"

"Do me a favor and talk to Sammy," Dean requested. "He likes your voice."

Gabriel grinned. "Ok!" He turned to Sam. "Hey Sammy. Shhhhh. Why you cryin' like that? Dean and Cas made Luci go away! Now we're gonna go get food and go to Wallymart."

Sam quieted once again, eyes on Gabriel. The little angel grinned wider. "Dean! He stopped!"

Dean chuckled. "Figured that would work."

Sam yawned. 'Hey Jude' played on the radio and he easily fell asleep.

"Sam's asleep," Castiel noted.

Dean smirked. "Yeah, I thought so. 'Hey Jude' always put him to sleep when we were little."

Gabriel stared wide-eyed out the window as they took an exit and drove into town. Little colorful shops lined the streets they went down. A huge sign for Wal-Mart loomed in the near distance. Dean let out a breath of relief. He was terrified of getting pulled over before they made it to the store. Now they would be fine.

"And a Mickey-D's, too," Dean said out loud as they pulled into the parking lot. He shut off the engine and hurried over to free the now-restless toddler. Castiel handed Sam over to Dean and Gabriel grabbed Dean's free hand. Dean held it tight, knowing the toddler-angel would run as soon as he saw the candy and toys inside.

First they went to McDonald's. Dean ordered food for himself, Castiel, and Gabriel. As soon as they had the food, he sat the two angels down in a booth. "Stay here," he ordered. "I have to go buy car seats before we get the rest of their stuff. Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a few minutes. Gabe, be good for Cas. Promise me, and I'll buy you a special treat later if Cas says you were good."

Gabriel's eyes lit up at the prospect of a special treat. "I promise!"

Dean nodded at Castiel and hurried off. Castiel grabbed Gabriel's toy and held it up. "Eat all your food first."

Gabe sighed, but nodded. Castiel opened the bx of chicken nuggets and emptied the french fries and apples onto the tray. Then he finally bit into his Big Mac. He found it surprisingly good.

Ten minutes later Dean was back. Castiel had finished his food, but Gabriel was still eating. The toddler grinned at seeing Dean and Sam back.

"I was good!" he exclaimed. "Tell 'im, Cas! I was good!"

Castiel nodded. "Gabriel was good."

Dean laughed. "Good. Keep being good when we're shopping and you'll get two special treats."

Dean quickly at his own food. Sam was still sleeping, now in a shopping cart with a brand-new baby carrier in the front seat.

Gabriel finished a few minutes later. "Toy?" he asked Castiel. Castiel handed over the toy, still in the bag.

"Dude, you can't give a three-year-old the toy still in a bag," Dean sighed. Gabriel handed him the toy and Dean freed the prize. It was a tiny stuffed bear.

"Let's get shopping," Dean decided, handing the toy to Gabriel. "Gabe, come put one hand on the shopping cart please."

Gabriel held onto the shopping cart with one hand and walked right next to Dean. Cas walked on the other side of the toddler-angel. They walked to the boy's clothes section first.

"Gabe, you pick out some shirts," Dean decided. Castiel followed Gabriel to the t-shirts while Dean grabbed pants, underwear, and socks. He'd done the same thing for Sam back when Sam was three, so he had a good idea of what size clothes to get. The angels shortly returned with Castiel carrying a pile of t-shirts. Gabriel grabbed the cart again and they made their way to the baby section. Here Castiel was completely clueless, so Dean did all the work. He send the powerless angels over to the toy section so Gabriel could pick out two toys, his special treats.

Sam woke up while Dean was picking out clothes. He started crying right away. Dean smiled at him. "Hey, Sammy, shhhh, I'm right here."

Sam quieted instantly. He followed Dean with his eyes. Dean's heart broke. He knew the real Sam was in there somewhere, but there was no way to see him. He'd glimpsed the real Gabriel a couple times so far, but it seems like their adult selves were trapped behind a wall or something.

"Just gotta grab some formula and baby food, Sammy," Dean promised. "Then we'll head home and get you taken care of, ok, kiddo?"

Sam smiled at his brother.

"He's so cute," a voice said. Female. Dean spun around.

"Thanks," he answered, not even bothering to "examine" her the way he normally would. No, he had too many other things on his mind right now.

"Do you..." The girl began.

"DEAN!"

Gabriel ran over to Dean, crying again. He had two stuffed animals and a truck in his arms.

"Gabe, where's Cas?" Dean asked, kneeling down to the toddler's level. "And I told you only two toys."

Gabe sniffled. He held up one of the bears. "For Sammy!"

Dean grinned, hugging Gabriel. "Awe, that's sweet Gabe."

Castiel came into view, glaring at Gabriel.

"He does not listen to me," he informed Dean.

Dean smirked. "You'll get the hang of it, Cas," he promised. Gabriel wasn't crying anymore. Instead he hid behind Dean, slightly afraid of the technically older angel. "Besides, he had one of the bears for Sammy."

Castiel rolled his eyes. He had no idea how Dean could be so good with kids.

"How sweet!" the woman exclaimed. Dean shook his head, surprised at the voice. He'd forgotten about the woman he was sort-of talking to. "You two adopted those boys?"

Castiel blinked. "Huh?"

Dean rolled his eyes at Castiel. "It's sort of like that, yeah. They're both actually family, but we have to raise them now."

"Awe!" the woman replied. "Here, hunny. If you two ever need anything, give me a call. It's so wonderful to see young people taking care of their family like this."

She handed Dean a business card and left. It had her name- Maura-, phone number, and a special sign that Dean easily recognized. A group of hunters had gotten together and agreed on a little symbol that they would put up for other hunters to find, should they ever need anything. And this woman's business card had it. He doubted she knew Dean himself was a hunter, but this knowledge would definitely come in handy.

"Ok, clothes, baby food, formula, bassinet, car seats..." Dean rattled off. "We will get more food later, closer to home. Cas, need anything?"

Castiel shook his head. Dean led them up front to the check-out lines. Gabriel stood on a bar on the cart and talked to Sam all about Wal-Mart while they waited. His baby brother paid attention to nothing other than Gabriel. They were almost through the line before Gabriel spotted the candy.

"DEAN!" Gabriel exclaimed. "CANDY!"

"No, Gabe," Dean replied. "No. It's too close to bedtime."

"But Dean!" Gabriel whined.

"I said no," Dean stated.

"But I want candy!" Gabriel cried.

"No candy," Dean said firmly.

"I want it!"

Dean looked away from Gabriel, blocking his access to the candy. A few older customers looked at him, annoyed. Then Sam started crying too.

"Gabriel!" Castiel snapped. "You made Sam cry!"

"I... want... candy..." Gabriel whined, falling to the ground.

Dean ran a hand through his hair. He held Sam, trying to soothe him while the cashier finished ringing up their total. Dean sighed and handed Castiel his wallet. The angel pulled out the required amount, thanked the cashier, took the change, and put their purchases into the cart. Dean picked up the screaming and kicking Gabriel and made their way out of the store.

No one said a word until everyone was in the car. Dean slammed a tape into the cassette player and peeled out of the parking lot. 'Hey Jude' came on and both boys stopped crying. Dean flew down the highway, Castiel next to him now that the boys both had car seats. Sam was once more asleep before the song even ended.

"Dean?" a small voice asked.

Dean looked into his rear-view mirror. Gabriel looked guilty. "I'm sorry."

Dean's anger subsided. "It's ok, Gabe," he sighed. "Next time when I say 'no', don't have another tantrum though. It makes Sammy upset, and you don't want that, right?"

"Right, Dean," Gabriel agreed. His tiny hands stroked Sam's cheek.

"Try to get some sleep, kid," Dean requested. "We've still got quite a few hours to go before we're home."

Gabe nodded, yawning. He closed his eyes and was out cold.

Castiel looked over at Dean now that the two little ones were asleep. "We need to figure out how to fix this," he stated.

"I know," Dean groaned. "But I don't know how. Or where to start. But maybe we can find something in the bunker? The Men of Letters have so many books. There's gotta be something in there."

"I hope so," Castiel muttered. "I'm not meant to be a dad."

Dean smirked. "Before long you'll be a perfect dad. I'll train you. I've got plenty of experience."

Castiel frowned. "You have no kids, Dean."

"Sammy," Dean stated. "My dad was never around, once I was old enough to do stuff for Sam instead. I pretty much raised that kid myself. It comes real easy, taking care of little kids, once you know what you're doing."

"I hope so," Castiel repeated. "Otherwise we're gonna need more help."

Dean rolled his eyes. Unfortunately there weren't many people who could help them.

Castiel yawned. "Get some rest, Cas," Dean ordered, taking a swig of coffee. "Still got a couple hours to go."

Castiel nodded and leaned his head back. For people who'd never had to sleep before, angels sure did fall asleep fast as humans.

Dean turned the volume on the radio up a bit. He hummed along to Metallica and continued the long drive home, more relaxed now that everyone was safe at least.

* * *

**Well there you have it! My first Supernatural fanfic. Please tell me what you thought! Should I continue it? Will people actually read it if I do? And what do you want to see happen later?**

**Peace out ~**

**-Kris-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much! The reviews/favorites/alerts are all such an inspiration for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**By the way ~ Here are some ages for you!**

**Sam is just over 6 months.**

**Gabriel is technically 3.5 years old.**

**Dean is 30.**

**Castiel is technically 33.**

**Aaaaand I forgot to do this last chapter: Disclaimer: SUPERNATURAL IS NOT MINE. Unfortunately.**

* * *

When Dean finally pulled into the bunker's garage it was well past midnight. He yawned as he shut his car off, affectionately rubbing the dash. He climbed out and moved around to the other side.

"Cas, time to get up," Dean muttered, opening the passenger door and shaking the sleeping angel's shoulder. "We're home."

Castiel shot up, wildly looking around. "Huh?"

"Home, dude," Dean sighed, yawning again. "Gotta get the kids inside. We'll deal with everything else later."

Castiel climbed out of the car, stretching. His shirt rose up and Dean quickly looked away, but not before he noticed how well toned the angel-turned-human's abs were getting. They'd been working hard in the last two weeks to get Castiel into hunter shape, and it was paying off.

_Toned abs? Since when do I notice that on guys? I've never thought of that on Sammy... _Dean unbuckled Gabriel and handed him to Castiel, blocking those thoughts from his mind. He didn't need another thing to worry about right now. The older angel looked at Dean, unsure of what to do. Dean rolled his eyes. Gabriel sleepily latched onto Castiel's neck, burring his face.

Dean picked up Sam who was still sleeping. Thankfully. Driving in the Impala always used to have that effect on the kid- he'd be out for hours. Dean was too tired to deal with more crying.

"C'mon," Dean sighed, leading the way into the bunker and to the hall with the bedrooms.

Castiel brought Gabriel into the room across from Sam's. He tried to lay the toddler down on the large bed but he was having none of that. Instead he squirmed and got out of Castiel's reach.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..." Gabriel whined. He ran into Dean's room. Giving up, Castiel went to his own room. He had a full bottle of Whiskey and a low tolerance for alcohol, the perfect combination for the deep, dreamless sleep he severely needed. Dean could handle the toddler.

"Bedtime, Gabe," Dean said, changing his shirt. He was already in sweatpants.

"I wanna sleep with Sammy and you!" Gabriel cried. "Pwease?"

"Why don't you want to sleep in your own bed?" Dean wondered.

"It's big and scary!" Gabriel answered, fear in his voice.

Dean sighed. "You can sleep in here tonight."

"Yay! Thank you!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Shhh, gotta be quiet though," Dean warned. "Don't wake Sammy."

Gabe nodded, climbing into bed. Dean situated Sam in the middle, then laid down himself. He flipped off the lights and climbed under the blankets. He figured one night like this wouldn't hurt. During the day he'd set up the crib for Sam and run out and buy a smaller bed for Gabriel. Everything would be ok.

* * *

Dean awoke a few hours later, not to Sam crying as he expected, but to Gabriel's little voice whispering to the baby.

"Shhhh, Sammy, don't cry," he whispered. Dean saw the toddler's hand stroking his brother's face, the other arm wrapped protectively around him. "Dean's still sleepin'. He's real tired and we gotta let 'im rest, kay?"

Sam's eyes were open, watching Gabriel, full of trust. Dean smiled. This was the Sammy he knew the best. Willing to trust anyone who gave him the light of day. But he knew there was more to it than just that. Gabriel seemed hell-bent a few weeks ago to watch over Sam, much the way Castiel had been doing for Dean. The older hunter didn't know why, but he was glad nonetheless. Even if he was the Trickster, he somehow made Sam happy. _But if he's lookin' to put a move on my baby brother, he's got another thing comin'._

"I bet Sammy's hungry," Dean stated after a few moments. Gabriel looked up.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed.

Dean grinned. "It's fine, Gabe. But I feel like you're hiding something from me."

Gabriel ducked his head. "Um..."

"Come with me to the kitchen and we'll talk," Dean decided. He gathered Sam up and led the toddler out of the room and to the kitchen, slowing his stride so Gabriel didn't have to run to keep up. Dean held Sam in one arm while he prepared a bottle of formula. Gabriel watched, never letting his gaze leave Sam. Sam babbled at the attention, trying to communicate.

"How much do you remember?" Dean asked gently, once the baby bottle was full and just warm enough to be safe to drink. He sat next to the toddler at the table while Sam drank.

"Most of it, right now" Gabriel admitted, swinging his legs because he couldn't reach the floor. "'Cept how to fix it. Lucy-fur said somethin' 'bout sayin' yes and a curse, but I was kinda hurt then."

"Right now?" Dean questioned.

"Um, it comes and goes," Gabriel answered. "Like... there's something forcin' me from rememberin' everythin'. It's tryin' to keep me back. Makes me tired."

Dean frowned.

"It sounds like the curse is meant to hold back Gabriel's true self." Castiel entered the room, rubbing his forehead, heading for the coffee machine."I need coffee. Anyway, whatever angel power Gabriel has left is being drained the more he spends 'in control', which is making him tired. It's sort of like possession, but not really."

"So if you let the child take control, Gabe, maybe you'll be able to store up enough angel mojo to break the curse?" Dean suggested. He glanced up at Castiel. "Wait, you have a hangover? You drank last night?"

Castiel merely nodded, regretting that action right away. Instead of speaking he motioned for Gabriel to answer Dean's question. Dean shot Castiel a look but returned his attention to the toddler.

"I could at least free myself that way, I bet," Gabriel replied slowly. "That'd be better for Sammy, if I could be a full angel again. Maybe I could change him then?"

Dean nodded. "Let the child take over, Gabe," he ordered. "We'll handle it from there, call on you if we need you."

Gabriel nodded, not liking the idea. He wanted to be in charge, able to help if needed. But that would never happen in this body. Not until he had enough angel power to turn into himself again.

"Ok," Gabriel sighed. He closed his eyes, relinquishing the hold he had, and fell asleep, head on the table.

Dean stood and patted Sam's back until he burped, dropping the baby bottle into the sink when he was satisfied Sam was good.

"It sounds like the curse is meant to remain in effect until Sam says yes to Lucifer," Castiel stated.

"Sammy can't even talk now, though," Dean replied. "How could he say yes if he can't speak?"

"I'm pretty sure Lucifer was planning on Sam's first word to be 'yes'," Castiel thought out loud.

"Good think that's not gonna be his first word, then," Dean said. "Before, his first word was 'no'. He'd heard our dad say it so many times. I don't think he even said 'yes' until he was well over two years old. But he didn't start talking until nine or ten months, so I think we've got a while to go."

"Sam's the only one who can tell us the whole story," Castiel muttered, pouring himself coffee. "We have to wait another four months for that?"

Dean groaned. Sam looked up, making cooing noises. The hunter's heart broke. "Oh, Sammy, we'll get you back to normal. Just don't know how long it's gonna take."

Suddenly Gabriel woke up. "I'm hungry," he stated. "Candy?"

"No, no candy for breakfast," Dean replied. "I'll make pancakes and bacon. Cas, take Sammy for me."

As soon as Dean handed over Sam, the baby started crying. Castiel made a face.

"Dean, he smells," the angel stated.

Dean began pulling out pans and ingredients. "So go change his diaper."

Castiel arched an eyebrow at the hunter. "Um, what?"

Dean slammed the larger pan onto the stove. "God, Cas, don't you know anything?"

Gabriel started crying from the noise than pan made. He jumped up and ran from the room. Castiel looked hurt. Sam cried louder.

Dean ran a hand through his hair, collecting himself. "I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed here. C'mon, I'll show you how to do it."

Castiel handed Sam over. The baby kept crying, but softer now.

"Go grab the bag with diapers," Dean instructed. Castiel nodded and hurried up to the car. Dean brought Sam into one of the bathrooms and laid him on top of a towel on the counter. Castiel returned quickly.

"Ok, so first you take his pants off," Dean began the lesson. "Remove the old diaper and clean him off completely. Make sure you do a good job otherwise he'll get a rash and then he will never stop crying. Put the new diaper under him. Baby powder, everywhere. Finally you just pull it up and attach it like this... There! All clean and happy now."

Dean put Sam's pants back on and turned to leave the bathroom. Except a crying Gabriel stood in his path, pants soaked.

"Dean..." he breathed, tears silently falling.

Dean mentally cursed. Apparently toddler Gabriel didn't know about toilets and the need to empty one's bladder. Dean just hoped he'd learn as fast as Castiel did. Potty training was not something he wanted to do again.

"Cas, give Gabe a bath," Dean requested. "Water not too hot, not too cold. I'll grab some of the bags so he has clean clothes to put on."

Both angels stared at Dean incredulously. "Now!" Dean ordered. Castiel muttered something but knelt down and turned on the bath faucet, getting the water to the perfect temperature. Dean shook his head and left, looking for somewhere to put Sam just long enough to get stuff inside.

"Sorry 'bout this, kiddo," Dean sighed, placing his baby brother in a small laundry basket full of clean towels. He put the basket in the bathroom with Castiel and Gabriel, who was now splashing happily in the water. Castiel looked up at him with a pained expression which made Dean smirk.

"I'm bringing everything inside," Dean stated. "By the time I'm done, he'll be clean. I need to set up the highchair before I can make breakfast."

Castiel nodded. Dean left.

"I want toys," Gabriel announced.

Castiel frowned. "We don't have water toys," he stated. "Maybe if you're good Dean will buy you some."

Gabriel's eyes lit up. He splashed in the water, letting Castiel shampoo and rinse his hair.

A few minutes into bath time Sam started crying again. Gabriel looked at Castiel expectantly. "Sammy's sad."

Castiel sighed. "Why?"

"He's lonely!" Gabriel announced. "Bring 'im close. He can't see us!"

Castiel dragged the basket closer to him. Sam relaxed when Gabriel came into view.

"Are you clean?" Castiel asked Gabriel a few minutes later.

Gabriel nodded. "All clean!"

Castiel unplugged the tub and dried Gabriel off. The toddler stood over Sam's basket, contemplating something while the older angel put the new clothes Dean had produced on.

"I wanna hold 'im," Gabriel announced once he was fully clothed again.

"No," Castiel decided, picking the baby up. Sam started crying as soon as Castiel lifted him out of the warm blankets. Gabriel followed them to the kitchen.

"Why?" Gabriel demanded angrily.

"You're too small," Castiel explained, patience long gone.

Dean spun around right as Gabriel started crying. He had been in the middle of flipping pancakes. "Never, ever, tell a toddler they are too small," Dean snapped. He quickly finished the pancakes and put them on the table. A plate of bacon was already there, as were three cups of orange juice- one in a sippy cup- and another cup of coffee for Castiel.

"Gabe, you can hold Sammy after breakfast," Dean promised, taking his baby brother and putting him in the newly-assembled highchair. Sam stopped sobbing once he was in Dean's steady hands, even staying calm in the unfamiliar highchair. His eyes were trained on Gabriel.

Dean took one of the smaller, cooler pancakes and cut it up into small pieces and placed them on the high chair tray. Sam looked up at him, confusion in his little eyes. Dean picked a piece up and fed it to him. The baby's eyes lit up as he chewed the pancake with his gums and two teeth and then helped himself to the rest of the pancake pieces.

Gabriel sat down next to Dean. Castiel sat on the other side of the table. Dean cut up two pancakes for Gabriel and poured some syrup on them, handing Gabriel the little fork he'd gotten for him. He also slid the sippy cup into the toddler's reach. Finally Dean helped himself, taking half the bacon and five pancakes.

"I'm gonna take Sammy and Gabe to the grocery store today," Dean informed Castiel. "You need to stay here and start researching. And I need you to set up Sammy's crib and playpen."

Castiel nodded. He was relieved to not be on babysitting duty today. "Where do you want the crib?"

"My room!" Gabriel announced around a mouthful of pancakes.

"I was thinking in my room, actually," Dean said slowly.

"But I wanna sleep with Sammy," Gabriel breathed, his voice said. "I want 'im close!"

Dean looked over at Sam. The baby was gazing at Gabriel once more. "How 'bout that, kiddo? You wanna room with Gabe?"

Sam blinked up at Dean, smiling wide. He started babbling again.

"I wish you could really talk," Dean sighed. "But I'm gonna go ahead and take that as a 'yes'."

Gabriel grinned triumphantly as he finished his pancakes.

"Gabe, wanna hold Sammy for me while I get ready for us to go out?" Dean asked. Gabriel nodded. Dean carried his brother and led Gabriel into the living room. He flipped on the TV and settled on a children's channel. He placed Sam in Gabriel's arms once the toddler was seated on the couch. "I'll be right back. Stay put."

Dean listened to Gabriel's voice speak softly to Sam as he walked away. He quickly filled a diaper bag with everything he would need for the day- two changes of clothes for Gabriel (just in case), diapers, wipes, baby powder, formula, baby food, extra clothes for Sam, lollipops if Gabriel got out of hand, and a couple pacifiers (not that he thought they'd do any good- Sam never used them when they were little). Hoping he hadn't forgotten anything, Dean returned to the living room. Sam and Gabe were still in the same spot he left them.

"Good work, Gabe," Dean praised the toddler. He flipped off the TV as a commercial came on (what great timing!). He picked Sam up and led the toddler up to the car. "We're leaving, Cas!"

"See you later," Castiel replied from somewhere in the bunker.

Dean unlocked the Impala and settled Sam into his car seat, then helped Gabriel into his. He handed the toddler a lollipop. "You'll get another one later if you're good," he promised. Gabriel nodded and grinned, eagerly sucking on the candy.

Dean pulled out of the garage and drove slightly slower then normal towards the highway. He glanced at the clock, 8:44 AM. Turning up the radio, he softly hummed along. This would be a long day for sure.

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**Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to be frequent with updates (like one or two a week for now), but I can't make any guarantees. I'm only in my third week of the semester and I'm already waaaay behind all my reading. Obnoxious people (the joys of dorms) are keeping me awake tonight (well, that, and insomnia) so I figured I'd finish up this chapter for you all. Please review! Let me know what you'd like to see. I have a small plan for this story, so I'm open to any suggestions for chapters! Especially things for Dean and Cas to do with the two little boys (I'm thinking Disney, sick!Sam, a real babysitter so the grown ups can hunt...).**

**Next chapter: Dean, Sam, and Gabe in a grocery store. What could possible go wrong?**

**~ Fly on ~**

**-Kris-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three! This story is coming along faster than I thought. Thank you for your lovely reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Icyfox West- Haha I'm not really sure honestly. It doesn't fit in very well in the timeline because of the characters involved, which is why I consider it to be more of an AU than a storyline fic.**

**Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

Dean hated driving so slow. Normally he tested the Impala's limits, flying by at thirty or so above the speed limit. But now he had two very little children in his backseat, and there was no way in Hell he would risk their lives by being so reckless. So long as Sam was like this, Dean would try to raise him better than their dad had so long ago.

Having a real home helped a lot.

"Are we there yet?" Gabriel asked about twenty minutes into the drive. He was alternating between ticking Sam and gazing out the window while Sam held one of his fingers.

"Almost, kiddo," Dean promised. He pulled onto an exit and five minutes later they made it to the Super Wal-Mart. There were real grocery stores in town, but Dean needed to get a toddler bed and a few other things too. He didn't feel like going to multiple stores. He quickly helped Gabriel out of the booster seat and freed Sam from the car seat. Dean placed Sam in the front of a shopping cart that supported the baby's back and neck so he could sit up. Gabriel rode on the bar while Dean pushed the cart inside.

Little Gabriel excitedly told Sam about everything they passed while Dean slowly filled up the cart. He made sure to get lots of fruits and vegetables, remember the mere handful of times they'd had them growing up. He even decided to get Sam some organic baby stuff- snacks and drinks mostly. He knew Sam would kill him when he returned to normal if he'd ingested crap the whole time.

The passed the candy isle. Gabriel's eyes lit up and he took off running down it. Dean grabbed him, annoyed. "Uh-uh," he snapped. "No candy."

Gabriel's lips quivered. Dean sighed. "I'm buying ice cream for dessert tonight," he informed the toddler. Gabriel's eyes lit up again.

"Chocolate?" he wondered. Dean nodded. "Yay!"

After that they left the food section. Sam started crying while Dean was looking at sheets for Gabriel's new bed.

"Damn," he muttered. He looked over at Gabriel who was trying to decide between two bed sets. "Gabe, potty time."

Gabriel put down the animal sheet set and handed Dean one with clouds and angels. "I miss my brothers and sisters," he whispered sadly. Dean could tell the real Gabriel was standing before him now.

"C'mere," Dean responded, swinging the toddler-angel into his arms. He started walking towards the bathrooms. "I know this is hard for you, but we'll get it fixed. Before long you'll be strong enough to turn normal again, and then you'll be able to see your brothers and sisters."

Gabriel sniffled. "I hate this. I hate this body, these kiddie thoughts and actions."

Dean looked over at the lay-away receptionist. "I gotta take my boys into the restroom. Can you keep an eye on my cart?"

The lady behind the counter nodded, eyes warm. "No problem, hun."

Dean picked up Sam in his other arm and carried the two boys and the diaper bag into the bathroom. He went to the largest stall, which had the baby changing station. He made sure Gabriel could relieve himself before taking care of Sam.

Gabriel waiting patiently for Dean to be done. They hurried out to wash hands and continue their shopping trip, but as they tried to leave the bathroom they discovered the door was locked.

"Dammit!" Dean exclaimed. Gabriel hissed.

"Lucifer."

The fallen angel appeared at last. "Hello, brother," Lucifer greeted. "Dean, Sammy."

"What the hell do you want now?" Dean demanded.

"Just to check on the littlest Winchester, of course," Lucifer drawled. "I over heard your plans to get my brother to full power again, so I figured I'd intervene." He snapped his fingers. Sam was in his arms. Dean made to attack, but Lucifer held up a hand. Dean and Gabriel were trapped.

"Why are you doing this?" Dean snapped.

"Sammy refused me," Lucifer sighed. "This is only a taste of punishment. I've got other more... imaginative punishments lined up should this prove inefficient. But for now I'd like my brother there to remain quite powerless, much like dear Castiel. Don't worry, I'm not taking Sammy from you. Yet. He's of no use to me right now, and it's much more fun to watch you try and play daddy again." He placed two fingers to Sam's forehead. "Remember not to mess with me."

Lucifer freed Dean and Gabriel. With a snap of his fingers Sam was once more in Dean's arms and Lucifer was gone. Dean tested the door and realized they were free now.

"What'd he do to Sammy?" Gabriel wondered, climbing onto the bar again. He peered at Sam, once more seated in the cart's seat.

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "Guess we'll find out sooner or later."

They quickly finished the shopping trip, only needing a few more items. Some employee would be bringing Gabriel's new mattress and bed outside shortly. Dean buckled Sam and Gabriel back into their seats, then stashed the groceries in the trunk. He pulled around to the load/unload area in front of the store and helped the twenty-something year-old kid secure the mattress and large cardboard box to the top of the Impala. It wasn't an ideal set-up, but Dean didn't want to make another trip today and Gabriel needed his own bed tonight. Dean didn't want to have to share with the toddler again, especially if he wet the bed.

The Impala's clock red 10:53 am as Dean pulled out of the parking lot. He slipped his 'Hey Jude' tape into the cassette player and glanced back at the boys. Sam's eyes were closed and his breathing was evening out. Gabriel was fighting sleep, one hand on Sam's cheek, but he was losing the battle. Dean smirked. Both boys were fast asleep as the song finished. Dean flipped the radio on and kept it on a lower volume so it didn't wake them.

He took a longer route home, hitting up a bakery drive-through. It was one of his favorite places in the world. This bakery had every type of pie you could imagine and it also had a drive-through. Dean had barely gone through one-fourth of the pies before their current mess began. He picked up two blueberry pies, knowing Castiel loved them, and a few new flavors for himself to try. He also decided on a cherry pie for Gabriel. It would be just sweet enough for the little angel's sweet tooth.

It was shortly after noon when Dean pulled into the bunker's garage. Castiel was waiting at the door, having heard the door sliding up. Dean carried both boys inside, laying Gabriel on the couch and Sam in the playpen Castiel had set up. He returned to the garage and helped Castiel bring the bags of groceries inside. They made short work of putting everything away. Then the two men carried in Gabriel's new bed and mattress.

"I set up the crib in Sam's old room," Castiel informed Dean. "I also removed the normal bed so there would be room for this one."

"Thanks, Cas," Dean said gratefully. They worked together to put together the toddler-sized bed.

The boys were still sleeping when the bed was finished. Dean rolled his shoulders and decided to do laundry. All the new clothes he bought needed a washing, along with the new bed stuff. And there was also a ton of dirty clothes that he'd been neglecting.

"I declare the rest of today laundry day," Dean decided. "Help me gather everything up."

It took a good ten minutes to gather all of the clothes and bedding. By the time they had everything piled up in the laundry room, five hampers were overflowing, with a large pile off to the side as well.

"Cas, it's time I teach you how to wash clothes," Dean sighed. He showed the human-angel how to separate the clothes. Castiel caught on quickly and didn't seem to mind the work.

They filled the washers up and headed up to the kitchen. Castiel helped himself to another mug of coffee while Dean drank a soda. They sat at the table in silence for a few moments, before Dean spoke.

"Why'd you drink so much last night?" he asked.

Castiel looked down. "It's nothing."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "If I had a nickel every time someone told me that..." he muttered.

Castiel looked up, frowning. "Why would you get a nickel every time someone said that?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "It's an expression. It mean's I've heard that line a million times before. Now tell me the truth. Why did you drink? You've never been much of a drinker."

Castiel sighed, finishing his coffee. "I've been having... nightmares," he admitted. "They keep me awake. So I figured drinking would make them go away."

Dean smirked. "Did it work?"

"No," Castiel groaned. "Just gave me a massive headache all day."

"You're first hangover, Cas," Dean laughed. "When's the last time you had a decent sleep?"

"Um, I guess the first night I was human," Castiel admitted. He looked away from Dean's gaze.

"Hey, it's ok, Cas," Dean said softly. He rested a hand on his best friend's arm. "Sammy slept in the same bed as me for so long, even when he didn't have to, because his nightmares were so bad. If that's what it takes to get you sleeping, I'm fine with it. I'd rather have you rested and happy than hungover and grouchy."

Castiel gave Dean a hint of a smile. "Thanks."

"I'm hungry."

The two men looked up. Gabriel was standing in the kitchen doorway, rubbing the sleep in his eyes away. He climbed up onto Castiel's lap.

"Gabe..." Dean warned, his eyes meeting Castiel's confused eyes.

"It's ok, Dean," Castiel stated after a few moments. "Gabriel is my brother, after all. I'm sure at some point in the past he did the same for me."

Dean nodded, standing to make Gabriel some lunch. "So you weren't always adults then?"

"Not quite," Castiel said. "When our Father created us, we started out much the same as humans, as infants. He created the arch-angels first, raising them Himself. Then He started creating the different angel races, scattering our ages. I supposed Gabriel would have been around what humans consider 'teenage' when I came into being. By then our Father had left the raising of the angels to the arch-angels and others who were older. Michael and Lucifer were the ones in charge of us, back then."

Dean finished making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and placed it in front of Gabriel, along with a sippy cup of apple juice.

"Why exactly did Lucifer fall?" Dean wondered.

Castiel shrugged. "I was too young at the time. I don't remember all the circumstances around it. I know that he was originally Dad's favorite. Lucifer was smart, beautiful, had everything he ever wanted. But then Dad created humans and I guess Lucifer got jealous."

"So that's the story Micheal's been telling everyone," Gabriel spoke up, slightly annoyed.

"Gabe, you shouldn't be in power," Dean admonished.

"Yeah, well I'm feeling quite stronger," Gabriel stated, rolling his shoulders. "Now let me tell you both what really happened."

Dean and Castiel nodded.

"It's true that Lucifer was simply the most amazing angel Dad had created," the arch-angel admitted. "He was everything, and then some. But Lucifer craved power. Dad had given control of the Heavenly Host to Micheal, the eldest. This angered Lucifer. He wanted to be in charge, for everyone to rely on him. He, in some ways, wanted to be treated like our Father was treated.

"Lucifer heard Dad telling me about his plan to create humanity. Dad said my reason for being was to be his messenger. I was fine with that. Sounded like an easy job. Dad had Metatron and I come to a special meeting where he laid out his plan for humanity. He told us all about it with such passion. The angel's jobs would be to watch over and serve the humans as needed. Unfortunately Lucifer overheard, and he was not happy. He didn't want to be subservient to a species he immediately deemed as unworthy of his amazingness. He barged into the room and demanded that, should our Father continue with his plans to create humanity, he should be allowed to rule over the humans, not serve them.

"Our Father did try to reason with Lucifer, at first. But it was fairly obvious what Lucifer wanted. He only wanted to have power over humanity and to be worshiped. The number one rule we had was that only our Father was to be worshiped. We were created to serve him, after all. Lucifer was angered by this and threatened to start an angel rebellion. We all knew that Lucifer was cunning enough to gather many angels and convince them to fight against our Father. So He decided that Lucifer would be punished, both as a way take away everything that made him so perfect and as a way to remind all of Heaven that He was the Almighty and could do anything. He cast Lucifer out of Heaven and made it so he could never return. Lucifer was forced to walk the Earth alone, until that fateful day he broke into the Garden and tempted Eve.

"Our Father was so mad about that. Not only did he punish Adam and Eve by throwing them out of the Garden, but he cast Lucifer down into Hell, which had previously not needed to exist. He gave Lucifer full control over Hell, allowing him to do as he pleased. Our Father was so upset about Adam's betrayal that he didn't care about the evil Lucifer created. Lucifer was unable to escape Hell without 66 of the seals being broken. That was the last thing our Father did to punish one of his original creations. He refused to take any other actions, barring any of us from harming him until the apocalypse, when only Michael has the job to cast Lucifer into Hell forever. I believe He truly still cares for Lucifer, but is still angry for all the terrible things he has done."

Dean and Castiel were silent, unsure of what to say. Castiel was angry that Michael had lied to him and all the others for so long, and Dean was simply amazed by this historical lesson. He was about to question why God couldn't handle Lucifer and punish him another way when Gabriel looked up at him, frowning.

"Shouldn't Sammy be awake by now?" he wondered.

Dean blinked, shaking his head to clear his mind. Sammy. "Yeah, actually. It's been nearly four hours. Even at six months he didn't nap this long."

Dean hurried to the playpen. Sam was awake, pain and fear in his eyes. Dean frowned, picking him up. "Sammy?"

"I can feel his pain," Gabriel whispered, shocked. "It's radiating off of him. As is fear. And he is crying. But he's not making any sound?"

Dean wiped at the tears falling from Sam's eyes. "Sammy, what is it?"

Sam tried to cry. He was desperate to make some sort of noise, to let Dean know how much it hurt. But nothing came out.

"He's awake," Gabriel announced, one hand on Sam's forehead. "The real Sam."

"Hey, Sammy," Dean whispered, trying to mask the fear in his voice. Castiel sat next to Dean, unsure of what to do but wanting to be there. "It's ok, I've got you. Listen, if it's really you right now, I'm so sorry you're stuck in this mess. We're trying to figure it out, how to fix you."

"Dean, he's in so much _pain,_" Gabriel whispered. His voice shook, and he was breathing heavily. "I can't even make out a single thought. All I do is feel his pain. He's so scared too. Uh, I feel dizzy..."

Gabriel fell back onto Castiel, unconscious. Dean looked up at Castiel, panic in his eyes.

"God, Cas, what do we do?" he whispered, his voice full of concern. "I can't stand Sammy being in pain, but we have no idea what caused it..."

Lucifer.

"Maybe Gabriel will be able to do something when he wakes up," Castiel suggested.

Dean shook his head. "Lucifer caused this." Dean quickly explained what had happened at the store.

"Another curse?" Castiel guessed. Dean nodded.

"Seems like it," he sighed. His brother's eyes were still wide, haunted. "It hurt Gabriel, too. Pretty sure our arch-angel is gonna be out of commission for a while."

Castiel rose, planning to take Gabriel to his bed before researching. "We'd better hit the books then," he said. "Maybe you can call Bobby? He might be able to help."

Dean nodded, feeling so useless. He was failing his own brother.

"Yeah, Bobby will know what to do..."

Dean didn't believe it, but he wanted to. Right now it looked like there was no way out but through the Devil himself.

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**I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what y'all think! And if you have any ideas for the future of the story, where you'd like me to take it, etc... let me know!**

**Until next time ~**

**-Kris-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long to update and it's not that long. Thank you to everyone who reviewed though! Love you all!**

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Dean spent the next few days away from the bunker. He couldn't stand being around his little Sammy when he was in such pain. He let Castiel and Gabriel deal with it. Besides, there were demon sightings about seven hours away. Dean needed revenge and he needed answers. He needed to know where Lucifer was and how to convince him to fix Sam.

Dean was feeling guilty. Not only had he somewhat abandoned his baby brother when Sam needed him the most, but also he and Castiel had an awful fight right before he left.

_That night after the boys had been put in their room for bed, Dean and Cas had returned to the kitchen. The hunter poured them both glasses of Jack Daniels. Cas sat at the table, ignoring the drink. Dean was on his second before the ex-angel spoke._

"_Dean, I don't think that was really Lucifer who hurt Sam," he breathed, bravely looking up into the hunter's distraught eyes._

"_What are you talkin' about, Cas?" Dean demanded. "Gabe and I both saw him, clear as day."_

_Castiel sighed. "It just does not sound like my brother. Plus, didn't he promise not to harm Sam? Never to lie to him? If there's one thing I know about my brother, is that he holds true to his promises. I do not believe that whoever did this to Sam is the real Lucifer. Besides, there is no way for Lucifer to have found you guys. Not so quickly."_

_Dean glared at his friend. "I know what I saw!" he snapped. "That lying bastard said this is only a small sample of the punishment Sam will receive!"_

_Castiel sighed. "I know my brother has an... exotic imagination when it comes to torture. But still, there is no cause for him to hurt Sam this way. Not directly, at least. My best guess is that someone heard his... disappointment over Sam's constant refusal and whomever it was chose to do something about it. I can almost guarantee Lucifer had nothing to do with it."_

"_Almost? Guess? Cas, I know what I saw," Dean growled. "I know that Lucifer hurt my baby brother. And I know I'm going to kill him before he has the chance to do it again."_

_Dean stormed to his room and quickly packed a duffel bag full of clothes, weapons, and bathroom essentials. Slamming his bedroom door shut, he made his way up to the garage. Castiel ran to catch up to him._

"_Dean? Where are you going?" the ex-angel wondered, terrified._

"_I'm going to go find Lucifer," Dean stated. "I can't stand doing nothing while Sammy's in so much pain. Just... call every night. I won't go too far so I can be back in case something bad happens. I just can't be here right now."_

* * *

Cas called every night. Dean listened patiently while the ex-angel told him about their day. How Sam refused to eat, and even when they did get food into him, he ended up spitting it all up, though between Cas and Gabe they managed to get formula in him at least once a day. How Gabriel was gaining strength, able to hold Sam for longer periods of time before he passed out from the radiation of pain coming from baby Sammy. How Castiel was dealing being a human with two tiny beings to care for, something he never had to before, human or angel. Dean in turn told him how he was doing. How many demons he'd ganked that day. That he hadn't touched any alcohol, though God knows how bad he wanted- needed- it. He needed his senses razor-sharp and had vowed not to touch alcohol until he had the answers he needed.

It was the fifth morning he'd been gone. He was staying at a decent hotel this time- the brothers had real money now. The bunker had cash and bonds all over the place, enough for the next thousand years probably. Sunlight streamed into the large glass window as _Seek &amp; Destroy_ by Metallica started playing from the radio/alarm.

Dean walked over from the table and shut the alarm off. He'd been awake nearly two hours already. He had a lead- a real one this time. The last demon he'd tortured informed him that one of Lucifer's more trusted subjects was in town. Probably looking for signs of the Winchesters since they couldn't exactly find the bunker.

Dean grabbed his angel-blade, the Colt, the demon-knife, and a few other useful items. The three big weapons he made sure to have on him, easily accessible. He hurried out of the motel and to his baby, quickly speeding through the sleepy town. It was a Sunday and this town was old-school. There was a church on the other side of town where most of the population would be. After that they'd go home and not leave their houses. Nothing was open here.

Not like he cared. Dean had one goal- the abandoned warehouse currently being used as a headquarters for Lucifer himself. Although the hunter doubted the fallen angel would actually be there, he was positive some higher-ups would be present. And he was ready for anything.

Well, almost anything.

Dean parked his Impala across the street. He strode right up to the front door of the warehouse. A single demon met him at the door.

"I am here to bring you to the boss," the demon stated, eying the demon-slaying knife in the hunter's hand. "Boss said not to hurt you."

Dean narrowed his eyes, but nodded. He allowed himself to be led deeper into the warehouse. Lucifer sure had a thing for abandoned places. Dean had expected Satan to be a little more upscale.

"Flashy is not always my style, Winchester."

Dean glared at Lucifer, currently seated at a wooden desk. He was perfectly comfortable, legs crossed on top of the desk, reclining in his chair.

"I want to know what you did to Sam."

Lucifer frowned. "Dean, you were there. I transformed Sam into an infant."

"No, I mean at the Wal-Mart," Dean snapped.

"Excuse me?" Lucifer questioned. "I don't recall _ever_ going to a Wal-Mart."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me. I had to take Gabe and Sam to the bathroom, you trapped us in there, and did _something_ that is now causing Sam pain."

Lucifer's eyes widened. He jumped up and slammed his fists on the table. "Damn that Rico. I told him to stay out of this!"

Dean frowned. "What?"

Lucifer looked past Dean at the demon standing in the doorway. "I need you to get Rico for me. Bring him here. I think he needs to be reminded who makes- and enforces- the rules."

The demon vanished. Lucifer looked at Dean, sighing. "I had expressed my displeasure over Sam's unwillingness to accept the role he's destined for. Apparently one of those stupid, brainless twits decided to go out and do something about it."

"This wasn't your doing," Dean stated, almost a question.

"Dean, I've told you both before," Lucifer breathed. "I have no intentions of hurting Sam. Not now, at least. Maybe later down the road if my more... humane attempts do not persuade him."

Dean glared at the devil once more. "Humane? You turned my baby brother into a freakin' baby! How's that humane?"

Lucifer smirked. "Well, I could have cut him to ribbons just to heal him again and continue for all of eternity."

Dean gagged. "You could just, I don't know, _leave him alone_!"

"Now, now, you know it's not that simple," Lucifer chided. "After all, you are Micheal's true vessel. It won't be long before he attempts to claim his role as well. I want Sam to accept me before I have to resort to pain."

"I'm not anyone's _vessel_," Dean spat. "And neither is Sam!"

Lucifer chuckled. "We'll see about that. Anyhow, why don't you call my darling brother and have him bring baby Sammy around so I can fix what my pathetic subordinate did to him. Oh, have him bring Gabe by too. I want to see how the littlest archangel is doing."

* * *

Gabriel glared up at Castiel. Five days had gone by without Dean and the ex-angel still had no idea how to care for a baby. The worst part was that Cas refused to let Gabe do anything.

"You're in a child's body," Castiel reminded the archangel for the twenty-millionth time.

"I'm a freaking Angel of the Lord!" Gabriel cried. "An Archangel! I don't care if I'm in a tiny body, I still know more about taking care of a baby than you do apparently! I can handle Sammy just fine!"

"Gabriel, you keep passing out," Castiel sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was getting longer. Maybe he should get a haircut soon. He wasn't fond of long hair. It didn't suit him well.

"Focus," Gabriel snapped. "Don't worry about me, I think I've found a way to block Sammy's pain from hurting me. And it's not as strong when I hold him, which is why I think he can at least drink the formula. After all, he did spit it all up when you tried to feed him last night."

Castiel sighed. "Fine. I will try to find something in the library about..."

"About what, brother?" Gabriel whispered. "There's nothing to search for. We would have to literally build a wall in Sammy's mind. As far as I know, that's impossible."

"Then what am I supposed..."

Gabriel tuned out then. He spun around before Castiel could finish and ran into the bedroom he shared with Sam. The baby was awake, eyes wide in fear and wet with unshed tears. Gabriel picked Sam up, flinching from the pain. He touched two little fingers to Sam's forehead.

"Sorry, Samsquatch," he whispered. "I just can't keep feelin' your pain. I'm just makin' it so it all stays in here, not rollin' onto me. This way I don't gotta let you go."

Sam blinked, feeling safe even though he was in so much pain. Gabriel was right- Sam didn't hurt so bad when the archangel held him.

"I'm gonna hurt Lucifer for this," Gabriel promised, carrying Sam out of the room and to the kitchen. Castiel had a bottle prepared and handed it to the archangel. At least the ex-angel could do _something_ right...

_Not... Lucifer..._

Gabriel dropped the bottle. The top snapped off and the formula spilled all over the floor. "Sammy...?"

_Wasn'... Luci..._

Castiel sighed and produced another baby bottle, quickly mixing everything and warming it up.

"Sammy... what do you mean... wasn't Luci?" Gabriel questioned.

Even in pain, baby Sam still managed to make what Dean called a "bitch face".

_Not... Luci..._

"It wasn't Lucifer...?" Gabriel frowned. "Dean and I saw him though."

_Luci... wouldn' hur'... me..._

Castiel handed over the new baby bottle to Gabriel and proceeded to clean up the mess on the ground. The archangel sat on the table, legs crossed, and fed Sam.

"I believe Sam came to the same conclusion I did," Castiel stated, tossing the cracked baby bottle in the garbage.

"Which would be..." Gabriel encouraged slowly.

"It wasn't really our brother who put Sam in this pain," Castiel stated, sitting on a chair. "Why would Lucifer do that? He promised not to harm- or lie to- Sam. It's not like him to break promises, you know."

Suddenly Castiel eyed Sam. "Have you been able to communicate this whole time?"

"Sammy?" Gabriel wondered. "Have you?"

_Been... trying... Hurts..._

"He said he's been trying to but it hurts," Gabriel explained when he realized Castiel couldn't hear him.

"Let me hold him for a second," Castiel ordered. Gabriel handed Sam over. "Speak to me." Sam looked up and focused on getting a message to the ex-angel (God it hurt so bad!). He started crying when he realized it wasn't working, his first tears- and sounds- in days. Castiel glared down at him, annoyed and confused.

Gabriel snatched Sam back. He rocked the baby, speaking in soothing tones. "Shhhh, it's ok Sammy. I think it's just 'cuz I got my angel-mojo still. It'll be ok, Dean's gonna fix all this..."

Just then Castiel's cellphone rang. He quickly answered it and hit the speaker phone button, knowing only one person would be calling him right now. "Dean!"

"_Is that Sammy crying?"_ Dean demanded, his voice a mix of shock and anger.

"Yeah, we found out he can communicate with me but not with Cas, and I think my brother scared him a bit," Gabriel answered.

"Did you discover anything?" Castiel wondered before Dean could yell at the ex-angel.

"_When I get back we're gonna have a chat, Cas," _Dean snapped. _"And yes, I did. Ran into our good friend Lucifer today. Turns out you were right. I owe you an apology."_

"No problem," Castiel replied, shrugging off the talk part. "What did he say?"

"_He wasn't the one who hurt Sam,"_ Dean admitted. _"He's currently dealing with the S.O.B. who did. He also agreed to fix Sammy's mind..."_

"And..." Cas prodded.

"_Um, don't worry about it,"_ Dean replied. _"Just get the three of you here, A.S.A.P. I'll text you the coordinates. It's about two hours out."_

Dean hung up. After a few seconds the phone buzzed- the text message arrived.

"Road trip!" Gabriel grinned, climbing off the table, still holding Sam.

Castiel in turn groaned. "Driving. Wonderful."

Gabriel turned around slowly. "You do know how to drive, right?"

"Just get in the car," Castiel sighed. "And be quiet."

* * *

**Again, so sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I've been busy with college and trying to get up to pace (transferring to a university from a county college as a junior is such a major change). Hopefully the rest of the story won't take so long, but no promises. I will try my best to update at least once a week. If you have any ideas for the story, please let me know! They keep my creative juices flowing!**

**Nai haryuvalaë melwa rë.**

**-Kris-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry it's late and short. Been too buy with life and school.**

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers and to all you who actually "follow" ****my story! 48 people! And to those of you who favorited it, I'm just so happy 3**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Cas."

"Cas."

"_Cas."_

"_Caaaaas."_

"_Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssssssss."_

"Cas..."

"_What_, Gabriel?" Castiel snapped, knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel harder.

"Are we there yet?" Gabriel asked in a sing-song voice.

"Gabriel, stop this!" Castiel exclaimed angrily. "You are an angel of the Lord! Behave like it!"

Gabriel snorted. "Last I checked I was Loki. Haven't been an angel of the Lord for centuries."

Castiel sighed. The last two hours had been quite painful, to put it lightly. They'd hit traffic an hour back and had literally been sitting on the highway for twenty minutes.

It was the longest twenty minutes of Castiel's life.

"So help me, when I get my Grace back..." Castiel threatened. Gabriel just smirked, looking out the window. He loved pushing the ex-angel's buttons. It was just too easy to get a rise out of him. And since Sam was sleeping, he had nothing better to do.

They drove another ten minutes in silence. Castiel parked in front of the warehouse and quickly freed Gabriel and Sam from the child restraints. Gabriel insisted on carrying Sam who had awoken from the rough handling of Castiel.

"Are you sure this is right?" Gabriel asked. Castiel nodded.

"Lucifer sure does like warehouses," he mused, leading Gabriel and Sam to the door.

Gabriel frowned. He felt the presence of quite a few high-level demons along with Lucifer and Dean. It smelled like trouble.

Sam squirmed in the arch-angel's hold. _Trap?_

Gabriel pursed his lips and followed Castiel inside. He held baby Sam tighter in response.

"Castiel, Gabriel, Sam, welcome."

The door slammed shut behind them.

Before anyone could blink, two demons were holding onto Castiel and dragging him away from the room. Gabriel frowned again. Sam cried.

"Brother,we were under the impression this would be a _peaceful_ meeting," Gabriel said, looking up into Lucifer's eyes, trying to judge his intent.

"I had intended it to be so," Lucifer replied. "Dean was unhappy with my terms and conditions. Follow me, Gabriel."

Gabriel followed him deeper into the warehouse. Lucifer suddenly stopped and turned. "Let me hold Sam for a bit."

The little arch-angel bit his lip. He didn't want to hand over Sam. But the sight of three demons made him change his mind. He'd rather be awake and with Lucifer while he had Sam as opposed to unconscious and not in the same room. Or country.

Sam struggled in Lucifer's hold, reaching out for Gabriel. The older angel grinned.

"Hey, Sammy boy," he cooed. He pressed two fingers to the infant's forehead. "I'll make the pain go away. I never wanted you to be hurt this way."

Sam's pain was gone. He looked into Lucifer's eyes curiously and stopped struggling.

"I've told you before, I will never hurt or lie to you," Lucifer explained. "I do not want my vessel to physically hurt. That saying, we have some talking to do."

Gabriel silently followed as Lucifer walked downstairs and into an office-type room.

"Michael has found another vessel since Dean refuses to play his part," Lucifer informed the two tiny people in his attendance, most of his attention on the baby in his arms. "I will not be so lucky. And since Michael is nearly ready for battle, I must prepare as well. I can no longer wait around for you, Sam, to completely willingly give yourself over to me."

"Brother, you cannot force yourself into him," Gabriel reminded Lucifer. "He must invite you."

"Yes, I know that," the older man replied. "But there is no rule against coercion."

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, not liking where this was heading.

"Which is why I have both Dean and Cas under lock-down right now," Lucifer announced. Gabriel glared at him. "All you have to do, Sam, is invite me in and they will be free to go. Completely unharmed."

"He's a baby," Gabriel snapped. "He can't do nothin'. I on the other hand..."

"Cannot do anything either," Lucifer finished, snapping his fingers. Gabriel was suddenly chained. The chains had special markings that would prevent the arch-angel from escaping or using his powers. Gabriel cursed up a storm.

"Now Sam, I'm going to turn you back into an adult," Lucifer stated. "I would like your decision right away. I have yet to harm anyone, but that can be changed if you are unwilling to just play your part."

Lucifer snapped his fingers again. Over the net few seconds Sam's body grew back to it's normal size. He groaned, falling onto his hands and knees.

"Hmmmm, I like you in that position," Lucifer mused.

Sam looked up, barely able to lift his head let alone stand.

"Let me hear what you have to say, Sammy boy," Lucifer ordered.

Sam coughed a few times. "If I agree you promise to free them all?"

"I will free Castiel and Dean, yes," Lucifer corrected. "Gabriel stays with us."

"Why?" Sam wondered, managing to assume a sitting position.

"I want to be able to keep an eye of Heaven's littlest arch-angel," Lucifer answered truthfully. "Having him around will keep you in line while we prepare you."

"You mean your not going to possess me right now?" Sam questioned.

"Not yet, you're not ready," Lucifer sighed. "And it's not time yet."

Sam refused to look over at Gabriel. He knew the arch-angel would not want him to fall to Lucifer's will. "Nothing bad will happen to Gabe?"

"So long as you behave," Lucifer promised.

Sam sighed. "I really have no choice."

Lucifer smirked. "I need to hear you agree, Sammy."

The hunter closed his eyes. "I'll do it."

* * *

"Dean?" Castiel called out. He had been dropped off in a large, empty, dark room.

"Cas?" came the reply.

Castiel quickly found Dean. He was bruised and slightly bloody. "What happened?"

"Tried to... fight them off," Dean sighed. He struggled to sit up. "Lucifer... tricked me."

"He tricked us all," Castiel informed him. "They grabbed me as soon as we entered the building. I have no idea where he took Sam and Gabriel. How long have you been in here?"

"Couple hours," Dean shrugged. "When I get outa here, I'm gonna beat that no good..."

"You and me both," Castiel agreed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't long before a demon entered the room.

"You're free to go," he snapped.

"What?" Dean asked, shocked.

"Boss got what he wanted," the demon explained, bitter. "Get out before he changes his mind."

"What did he want?" Castiel questioned as they left the room.

"The other Winchester," the demon answered, leading them out of the building. "Scram."

The warehouse door slammed shut as they entered the bright afternoon air.

"I am so not leaving with my brother," Dean hissed. He spotted his baby and ran to her trunk, grabbing a few weapons and a lock-pick.

Dean made short work of the door. It swung open silently. He handed Castiel a knife and they re-entered the building. It was completely silent.

"No one is here," the ex-angel whispered.

"Dammit!" Dean cried. "They couldn't just leave like that... so fast..."

The only thing in the while building was a note taped to what used to be an office.

_Dean and Cas-_

_Sam has agreed to play his part. The littlest arch-angel will be joining us. I have a big surprise for the final battle. Too bad neither of you will be there. Michael already chose a new, willing vessel. When everything works out in my favor, maybe I will allow you to see Sam again. I hope you boys learned a lesson today. You can't trust anyone. Especially a Prince of Hell. How long do you think it will take Sam and Gabe to learn this too? It's been fun boys, but now I've got a world to destroy._

_Yours, Lucifer_

"He left us a freakin' letter..." Dean ran a hand through his short hair, shocked and angry and needing revenge. "A freaking letter. Just to tell us what we already knew- he's a no good liar. God, Cas, what's he gonna do to Sammy?"

"Dean, we should be able to use the letter to track him," Cas said, not liking the possibilities for Lucifer's "big surprise".

"Let's go, then," Dean sighed, pocketing the letter. "I need to find Sam and get him out of there. No telling what Lucifer's gonna do to him..."

* * *

Twenty minutes was all it took for Sam and Gabe to realize that Lucifer had been lying to them about almost everything all along. So far the only thing they knew was the truth was that Cas and Dean were free from the warehouse.

Gabriel had been transformed into an adult once more, but the chains remained to keep him powerless. The chains were connected to the far wall of their "cell" and were only long enough to cross about half the room. So when three hours went by and Sam was returned to the room, Gabriel had to wait until the poor hunter had managed to crawl to the halfway point before the arch-angel could help him.

"Sam," Gabriel whispered, picking up the bleeding man. "What happened? I thought you weren't going to be harmed..."

Sam spat blood from his mouth onto the dirt floor. "Turns out... everyone's... been tricked," he mumbled. Gabriel helped him to the far wall and sat him down.

"How so?"

Sam groaned, shifting to get more comfortable. He ended up flat on his back. Gabriel took the opportunity to assess the damage done to his body.

"I'm... not sure... he actually... wants to... use me... to fight... Michael," Sam stated, groaning when the arch-angel pressed lightly over his ribs. "I can't... tell... what he's... planning... right now... I know... he wants... to use you... in the... fight, though."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I'm not fighting anyone," he stated. "This battle is between Lucifer and Michael, not me. I'm Switzerland. Now hush and go to sleep."

Gabriel sat next to Sam, lifting his head into his lap because he knew the hunter was having a difficult time breathing. Sam's body relaxed slightly and before long his breathing evened out.

"Gabriel, brother."

The arch-angel looked up. Lucifer was standing above him. "We need to talk."

"I won't fight Michael."

Lucifer smirked. "Really, now? Just consider what happened to Sammy here a warning for what's to come should you persist on your 'Switzerland' position."

"Why are you hurting him?" Gabriel demanded. "I thought you needed him for a vessel."

Lucifer shrugged. "I can easily heal him when the time comes. But I prefer my hosts to be much more submissive. I'm training Sam into the host I want him to be, and I'm also getting your support. I'll give you a few days to decide. We won't hurt Sammy too badly, just enough to help convince you to do the right thing. Which I know you will do, since you seem to care about the boy so very much."

Lucifer vanished before Gabriel could reply. The arch-angel frowned, brushing Sam's hair out of his eyes. _Dammit. The one person in the whole universe I care about used as bait. This is why I don't get close to people. But I just can't help it... Lucifer will be so sorry he ever messed with me._

* * *

**So yeah, really sorry about the timing. Took way too long, I know. I've been really busy with school though. Hopefully another chapter this weekend, if not then probably next weekend. Got papers and midterms now. Yay college... Oh, and the fact that there's the new Supernatural, Arrow, Flash, American Horror Story, Doctor Who, Gotham... Yeah not much free time over here.**

**FYI- I love evil!Lucifer so yeah, he's gonna be more OOC in my story than in the TV series. I enjoy hurt!Sammy too much to keep Lucifer completely in character.**

**Reviews keep me motivated to write! Especially if there's anything you'd like to see in the story. I'm open to suggestions. They help me write too!**

**Fly on ~**

**Kris**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this is late again! College midterms already.**

**Thanks for the reviews! You are all lovely! **

**Does torture need to be under M? It's not like it's explicit. And it's only this chapter. Well, here's a warning for that. Minor torture and mentions of torture!**

**Enjoy ~**

* * *

Pain coursed through Sam's abdomen as Lucifer finally pulled the knife away. The hunter's eyes were squeezed shut. He bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. He refused to scream, to break.

"You know how to end this, Sammy boy," the fallen angel sang.

"I'll die first," Sam spat.

"No, you most certainly won't," Lucifer laughed, stabbing into the hunter's thigh. "Any time you die, I'll just bring you back. You're still my vessel after all."

Sam hissed in pain as the knife began carving into him. Again.

"Thought you'd never hurt me," he gasped.

Lucifer chuckled. "I thought you were going to let me in," he responded. "But you tricked me, Sammy. So now you'll pay for it until you break. This is just the beginning."

Lucifer made another cut. Dizzy from blood loss, Sam finally passed out.

* * *

Gabriel shot up when the door to his prison finally opened. Nearly a week had passed by since some demon had come and taken Sam away. The arch-angel had spent the entire week trapped in the cell with no one to talk to. Lucifer didn't even come by once, surprisingly enough. He'd received no food or water - not that he needed them anyway. He couldn't hear anything happening outside the room either. He was starting to feel like everyone had forgotten about him.

It wouldn't be the first time...

Right away Gabriel knew that someone was returning Sam to their prison. The hunter's body was dumped unceremoniously a few feet from Gabriel's reach. The demon left, locking the door behind him.

"Sam?" Gabriel asked gently. He moved as close as he could to his friend. If it weren't for the shallow rise of his chest every so often, Gabriel would have thought him dead.

The arch-angel sat back in his heels, willing Sam to waken. Gabriel would do his best to help him. He just needed the hunter to get close enough.

Hours went by before Sam made a sound. It was a weak, pathetic groan. He blinked open his eyes, not really focusing on anything. He was confused.

"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Drag yourself closer and I'll take care of you."

Slowly and with many painful groans, Sam inched his way back far enough for Gabriel to take over. Gabriel effortlessly lifted him up and then ever-so-carefully laid him on the bed. Sam wasn't wearing any clothes - not that he had in weeks. Lucifer was a fan of humiliation, after all. Gabriel removed his own T-shirt and used it to wipe up as much blood as he could. He needed to see how bad the hunter's wounds were. He tore the tee into strips and used them as make-shift bandages for the worst wounds.

Sam mumbled something incoherent. Gabriel bit his lip, placing a hand to Sam's forehead. He was burning up badly. His eyes were cloudy and he was still breathing shallowly.

"Lucifer," Gabriel called, gazing into Sam's lifeless eyes.

"Brother," came the reply.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "If I agree to work with you, will you let Sam go?"

"No can do," Lucifer replied. "But I will give you both a room with access to anything you need to care for him. Your own bathroom too, connected."

Gabriel shut his eyes. "Why can't you let Sam go, if you have me?"

"Two reasons, little brother," Lucifer whispered from right behind Gabriel. "One is insurance. That you do as I request. Second is he is still my true vessel, and I do plan to use him. But now is not the time. That stupid lesser-demon made me rework my plans, causing me to have Sam before the time came."

"Will you stop harming him?" Gabriel asked.

"Nope," Lucifer replied, grinning. "I find myself enjoying it too much to stop now. But you will be able to tend to him, lessen his suffering. Isn't that what you want, little brother?"

"Fine," Gabriel muttered. He'd be able to get them far away once the chains were gone. "I'll do it."

As soon as he finished saying those words a collar snapped around his neck. Gabriel grabbed at it, trying to pull it off. He knew what this was without even having to look at it. The collar would work much as the chains had, keeping him from using any of his angelic powers. It wouldn't come off until a secret word was spoken. That word would only be known by the person who had created the collar and the one using it against him.

"I'm not about t have you run off on me, Gabriel," Lucifer chuckled. "Now, grab sleeping beauty and I'll show you to your new room."

Gabriel was silent during the walk. He was carrying Sam carefully, trying to keep from jolting him too much. Sam was awake, but barely. He groaned every few seconds. Sweat covered his body and yet he continued to shiver.

They walked for nearly ten minutes, going up four flights of stairs. "I highly doubt either of you will attempt to escape by jumping, but if you do somehow manage to get the window open, it's nearly a forty foot drop. And there are some rather unforgiving boulders just below as well. The door will be locked at all times, unless I need you. Any questions, little brother?"

Gabriel shook his head. Lucifer opened the room and motioned him inside. Gabriel first brought Sam to the simple queen-sized bed. They had been graced with two pillows and a thin sheet on top of the mattress which was on the ground.

"You're too kind, Luci," Gabriel muttered, standing back up.

"As time goes on I will present you with gifts for good behavior," Lucifer promised. "When you disobey me, Sam will pay, and his current condition will look like a spa treatment. Enjoy your room."

Lucifer turned and left, locking the door behind him. Sam moaned.

"Hey, Sammy," Gabriel breathed, leaning down over the hunter. "I'm gonna get you all cleaned up."

"D'n?" Sam feverishly asked, closing his eyes and slowly slipping back into sleep.

"Gabe," the arch-angel answered sadly. "Dean's not here. Hang tight while I get some bandages. I'll get you all fixed up, I promise."

* * *

"Cas! I found it!"

Dean ran out of the library and into the kitchen where the ex-angel was preparing supper. They were back at the bunker after a series of fake leads.

"What did you find, Dean?" Castiel asked, checking on his ziti. He'd become a fan of cooking Italian food over the last month.

"Mmmm, smells good," Dena approved as his friend pulled their dinner out of the oven. "Anyways, I'm pretty sure I found the town Lucifer's holed up in. It's surrounded in demonic omens. Within a few hours in all directions I've discovered Trickster work, too."

Castiel frowned. "Gabriel is working with Lucifer? That does not sound accurate."

Dean sighed, sitting down. "I'm not sure. Maybe he tricked him? Either way, it's a two-day drive. The town's in Maine."

Castiel frowned again. "That's a nearly thirty hour drive, Dean. And wouldn't we have to go through Canada?"

"Yeah, two days and Canada," Dean affirmed. "The sooner we get there, the better. I plan to drive fourteen hours before stopping. We'll stop in Port Huron, Michigan and cross into Canada from there. And we'll stop in Pohenegamook in Canada before crossing back into Maine. Get all rested up and prepared. The town's called Allagash. Lots of trees and crap, perfect place to hole up without being noticed. We'll grab Sammy and Gabe and head west."

"What if they are not being kept there?" Castiel questioned, piling ziti onto two plates.

"We gank whatever's there anyway," Dean supplied, taking his plate. "And we keep searching. It's been over a month, Cas. I need to find Sammy. These freakin' demons have been sending us on goose chases this whole time. We know Lucifer's tricked us, Sammy most of all."

Castiel sat down and slowly ate his dinner. "I have found something as well. A way to take out many demons at once."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Spill."

"Well, one of the books I read mentioned a powerful demon killing spell," Castiel explained. "If we had the ingredients we could make something akin to bombs. They will destroy any demons within the vicinity. The issue is that the ingredients are... quite rare. We do not have a way to get them."

Dean smirked. "I know a certain demon who owes me a favor."

"You're bringing Crowley into this?" Castiel wondered.

"He hated Lucifer as much as we do," Dean shrugged. "Plus he owes me." He finished his dinner. "Pack the bags. I'll call up Crowley."

Dean chose to drive twenty minutes away to make the call. The phone rang once.

"_Squirrel."_

"Crowley, I want to cash in my I.O.U."

"_Be right there."_

Crowley hung up. A few seconds went by. Then he was right there, in front of Dean.

"Where is Moose?" Crowley wondered. "Last I heard you were carrying him around in a stroller."

Dean sighed. "Lucifer has him and Gabriel. He tricked us all."

"And you want me to help get them back?" Crowley wondered. "No can do. I like my head attached to my body, if you catch my drift."

"Actually, I need you to gather some ingredients for me," Dean replied. "Cas found a spell that will help us destroy multiple demons at once."

"Ah, say no more," Crowley said, waving his hand around. "Have our little ex-angel text me everything he needs and I will have them for you in no time."

"Why are you so willing to help us?" Dean asked carefully.

"Well, for one, I do not enjoy owing others," Crowley answered. "And I do not like Lucifer. His death would benefit me greatly. Shall I bring the items here, or elsewhere?"

"Here," Dean decided. "Cas and I will be here in the morning. Sunrise. I want everything by then."

Crowley smirked. "As you wish, Squirrel. Toodles."

* * *

Gabriel lounged on the sofa. Lucifer and three of his men were sitting on chairs around a table, talking strategy. The battle with Michael wasn't going to be any time soon, but Lucifer still wanted everything to be perfect.

"As much as I love hearing you talk all about your plans dealing with our eldest brother, you have some more pressing matters," Gabriel finally interrupted.

"And what would that be, little brother?" Lucifer snapped.

"Unlike you, I am still tuned into our sisters and brothers," Gabriel announced. "And they talk much, as you know. Most recently there is word that Castiel and the other Winchester are on their way here."

"It seems I have underestimated them," Lucifer mused. "I suppose they want my little pet back."

Gabriel smirked. "So, brother, what are your plans for them?"

"If they want him back so bad, they can have him," Lucifer decided. "I have no use for Sam just yet. Besides, any more fun and Sam will probably be too broken for me. Dean can have his _baby brother_ back. Go now, Gabriel. I'm sure he's in the room by now."

Gabriel bit his lip and left. Lucifer hadn't mentioned letting him go, too. He shook that thought out of his head as he walked into his and Sam's room. The door locked behind him once it was shut.

Sam was in one of the corners, knees pulled up to his chest. He was cradling an arm and trying to make himself as small as possible. Under any other circumstances Gabriel would have laughed at the sasquatch of a man trying to be smaller.

"Hey, Sammy," Gabriel whispered. Sam took a shuddering breath and looked up. His eyes were full of pain and tears threatened to spill over. "Let's get you on the bed and I'll take care of you."

Sam nodded, letting the arch-angel move him ever-so-slowly onto their mattress. They'd been graced with an extra pillow and a quilt since moving in.

"I have some good new for you," Gabriel announced after grabbing a towel from the bathroom and wetting it. He started to wash off the blood coating Sam's body. "Dean and Cast are on their way. Lucifer's gonna let them have you."

Confusion appeared on the hunter's face. He opened his mouth to speak, but ended up coughing instead.

"My brother... he's going to return you to them as a baby," Gabriel sighed. He pressed two finger's to Sam's arm and it slowly began to heal. He'd been able to harness the smallest bit of his grace a while back, using it only to heal Sam of his worst pains. "I believe I am to remain with Lucifer. But so long as you're gone from here, I will be fine. I know you don't particularly want to be returned as an infant, but at least you're getting away. I'm sure Dean and Cas will find a way to remove the curse."

Sam forced himself to sit up, cringing in pain as he did so. "Not... without... you..."

Gabriel bowed his head sadly as the door slammed open.

"Now, now, Sammy," Lucifer purred. "You don't have that choice. Gabriel is mine."

* * *

**All the places I mention exist! I Google-mapped the trip actually. The distance would be around 29 hours, driving through Canada. Pohenegamook is a town right on the other side of the border from Maine. I wanted Lucifer's current base to be as far north-east as it could be, but still in the contiguous US. Which would be Allagash, Maine. If anyone happens to live in these towns, well, shout-out to you then! The middle of nowhere seems like a perfect location for a temporary base.**

**Now, the whole point of this story was for Sam and Gabe to be little kids... Which I apparently forget rather quickly. So I'm returning to that part now, with Sam at least. Maybe before long Lucifer will tire of his brother too?**

**Reviews are what give me inspiration! Especially with classes draining me of all my happiness (seriously, my one class I have to read a 300 page book, two text book chapters, a twenty-page article and a ten-page article, all due by Wednesday... and that's just ONE class). They also make me less likely to kill some of these loud, drunk, obnoxious _creatures_ living in my dorm building.**

**Please let me know if you have any ideas for the story! I am always open to them! And I might want a beta, too. Never used one but I'm sure one would help immensely! Let me know if you're interested!**

**_Carpe noctem!_**

**-Kris-**


	7. Chapter 7

**My longest chapter yet! I'm so happy. I think it's done sooner than planned too.**

**Thank you to my reviewers! I love you all. Sorry I didn't respond this time around, the wifi at my school is currently experiencing major lag and I haven't been able to reply. But I love them still!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucifer glared at Gabriel. It wasn't just any glare. It was _the glare_, the one that any other creature would cower away from. The one that had sent hundreds of demons running away in pure terror. That had made simple-minded humans faint. It was the glare that even made Michael look away, that had sent lesser angels into hiding during one of his many fights before the Fall.

Gabriel just smirked. Even after so many millenniums it seemed he was still the only one immune to his older brother's glare. Lucifer was the one who raised him, after all. Both Michael and Raphael had found Gabriel to be too annoying, too much of a hassle. Lucifer, on the other hand, had willingly stepped up to the plate. Michael had raised both Lucifer and Raphael so Lucifer took it upon himself to raise Gabriel. Lucifer was the one who taught Gabriel how to use his powers, how to fly, even how to walk. Gabriel had gone to Lucifer whenever he was hurt or in trouble. Lucifer had taught Gabriel many of the tricks he used now as Loki. And Gabriel knew that he was probably the only creature in existence that Lucifer didn't- couldn't- hate. Even though Gabriel hadn't sided with Lucifer all those years ago when his brother had tried to rise against God, Lucifer still couldn't hate him.

Lucifer just sighed. "Why didn't it work?"

Gabriel looked down at the floor of his "room", bare of everything save the three people. Sam was curled up, thumb in his mouth, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a month. He was so tiny, barely two-and-a-half feet tall.

"I'd say it worked," Gabriel responded.

"I wanted an _infant_," Lucifer snapped. "This is clearly not an infant."

Gabriel shrugged. "That spell wouldn't send him back any farther. The more you use it, the less back it goes. Be happy he's this small."

Lucifer rounded on his brother. "You should have told me that before!"

Gabriel bent down and picked up the little child who woke from Lucifer's angry yell. He snuggled the toddler to his chest. "He's just over a year old at this point. Fourteen months. It's not like he can do any damage to anyone. Dean and Cas will be busy trying to figure out how to reverse the spell. Too busy to bother with interrupting your preparations. I guess I should warn you this though: It'll be harder to get Sam back to his rightful age. The more time you use the spell on someone, the harder it is to reverse it. Harder, but not impossible."

Lucifer shrugged, spinning around to leave the room. "I don't care. I'll raise him myself if I have to... once Dean and his pet angel take care of the dirty work for me. I can mold him better that way. Less resistance. Enjoy your time with the brat, Gabriel. We'll be leaving as soon as I hear that damn car pull in."

Lucifer left the room, locking it behind him. Gabriel sank down against the wall, holding Sam close.

"I'm so sorry, little Sasquatch," he whispered sadly. He brushed Sam's long hair out of his face. Sam looked up at his face inquisitively. "It's almost a fresh start for you, kiddo. Luci's locked up all those bad memories, and this time nothin' but him or me could get them out. Unfortunately I'm not in much of a position to fix you. But your big brother's gonna be here real soon to take care of you. I don't know how long it'll be before I can get free of my own big brother. Soon as I do I'm coming to fix you, I promise. No one's been able to keep me trapped for long. After all, I am Loki!"

Sam giggled. "Luki!"

Gabriel's eyes lit up. "Dean's gonna hate me for that," he said with a wide grin.

Sam yawned, fisting Gabriel's shirt. His little body shivered- kid still didn't have clothes. Well, Lucifer had been nice enough to present Gabriel with a few diapers, not wanting any waste on the carpets. The arch-angel removed his own t-shirt and managed to get Sam's arms and head into the right holes. He tied it in the back so it was a bit less loose. The toddler was still drowning in the shirt, but at least it wouldn't fall off or smother him this way.

Gabriel held Sam close again as the toddle fell asleep. It wouldn't be too much longer before Dean and Castiel arrived. He seriously hoped that they would be able to figure out a counter-spell. The only other part he hadn't mention to anyone but Lucifer was that the longer Sam remained little, the harder it would be to return him to his grown-up size. And that was the Sam Gabriel wanted to have back more than anything.

* * *

The Impala rolled noisily down the street. His was the only car for miles. It seemed like the only house in this whole part of the state was the one where Lucifer chose for his current base.

Dean prayed they would still be there when they arrived.

Getting into Canada had been easy. Too easy. When they pulled into the border check, the woman took one look at Castiel and waved them through. She didn't ask to see their passports or why they were coming to the country. Castiel offered no explanation, pointedly ignoring Dean for the next two hours while pretending to sleep.

No, the hard part was crossing from that freakin' border town into Maine. It had snowed the night they stayed over in Pohenegamook. Ice and everything. The hotel itself hadn't even been shoveled out until the next night. Dean punched the wall when he found out the main roads hadn't been taken care of yet. Then the next afternoon he discovered the hard way that the road he needed to take for around fifty miles wasn't plowed yet. So he returned to the hotel, allowing Castiel the honor of booking another two nights. He was ready to murder anyone who so much as looked at him wrong.

Castiel was very quiet, only responding halfheartedly to Dean's questions for food and such. He wasn't about to bring up the fact that it wasn't the right season for snow, let alone in Maine and Canada. Dean would figure that out in his own time, when their trip was completed, with or without their objectives. Castiel knew that the snow was Gabriel's doing. Lucifer was known to manipulate weather, but he simple _knew_ that Gabriel was the one causing the freak storm. Plus the storm was only affecting where they were and where they needed to go. The lady on the weather channel informed them of that.

"I swear to God I'm going to rip that damned Lucifer apart," Dean promised, pressing his baby to hit ninety miles an hour.

"What if he's not there, Dean?" Castiel finally asked. He had been avoiding asking this all week.

Dean's knuckles turned white against the steering wheel. "He has to be there," he answered in a dark voice. "If not..."

Castiel looked out the window. They should be nearing the driveway soon.

As if sensing his thoughts, Dean slowed down over the next few miles. Finally he was down to a crawl- barely ten miles as hour. According to the GPS on his phone- that freakin' smart-phone Sam had been so insistent on getting for him, which he was quite grateful for at the moment- they should be coming upon it momentarily.

"To your left," Castiel announced, pointing. There was a small mailbox marking the spot where the driveway began. Dean turned left, not bothering to signal. There were no cops out here, no one else on the road. They were literally in the middle of nowhere.

Dean pulled up the driveway, long overrun by forage. The house was deathly quiet. No lights, no fires, no cars, no people. The Impala rounded the bend and Dean parked her right in front of the stairs. Grabbing a gun and silver bullets etched with demon traps, holy water, and salt, Dean turned to face the house.

"It is too quiet," Castiel stated. Dean nodded once, then stormed up to the front door.

It wasn't locked.

Dean entered silently, making his way into the empty entrance. He did a sweep of the first floor, noting how incredibly empty it was. "I'll check the basement. You head upstairs."

As soon as he opened the door at the top of the basement steps, the smell hit Dean full-force. He coughed, bringing his sweater-covered arm up to cover his mouth and nose as he made his way down wooden, rickety steps. The stench of blood, urine, waste, and death mixed together in a most unpleasant manner. Dean's eyes burned and watered when he finally reached the bottom.

There were no lights. Dean pulled out his flashlight and flicked it on, doing a quick sweep. Along the narrow hallway were what could only be explained as two rows of cells. Heavy doors were shut in all but the farthest cell, to the right. The silence down here was deafening.

Dean stepped into that last cell. The flashlight illuminated next to nothing, but he still managed to see more that enough. Blood, relatively fresh, coated much of the floor. Chains hung from the wall, one in particular that Dean knew was an ankle cuff had some blood covering it. Dean shivered, leaving the room. He didn't even want to imagine whose blood it was all over the cell. He didn't even want to consider it could possibly belong to his baby brother... was most likely his baby brother's blood...

Dean didn't bother checking any of the other cells. He had to get away from the stench of death and waste. It was too much. As soon as he made it to the top of the steps, he heaved, eliminating his breakfast from his stomach.

Castiel looked down from the top of the stairs to the second floor landing. "Not on this floor Dean."

Dean nodded, coughing, and spit to clean the foul taste of vomit from his mouth. He joined his friend and together they made their way to the third floor.

"You go left, I'll go right," the hunter decided, motioning down the hallway. Castiel nodded and they split once more.

Dean was three doors down when he heard it. The soft, whimpering noises that only a little Samuel Winchester would make. Noises that Dean knew expressed terror, but sounded to anyone else like mere discomfort.

He slowly, quietly stepped into the room. There, in the center of the room, sat his little brother. His size... he had to be around fourteen or fifteen months.

"Sammy," Dean breathed.

Sam looked up, blinking at the nickname. He gave Dean a small smile. "Luki?"

Dean furrowed his brows, gathering his toddler-sized brother up. "No, Dean."

Sam's eyes lit up. "De-de!"

Dean smirked. "Yeah, kiddo." He walked into the hall. "Cas, found him!"

Castiel emerged from one of the other rooms down the hall. "He is a child again."

"Well, he's a bit closer to normal this time," Dean stated. They made their way out of the building and to the Impala. "At least he's not an infant anymore."

Sam stretched back to the house. "Luki!"

Castiel frowned. "Who's Luki?"

Dean shrugged, placing a toddler into the backseat of the Impala. "How'd this get here?" he wondered, snapping Sam into the car seat.

"Luki!" Sam exclaimed, still reaching to the house. Tears streamed down his face.

Dean and Castiel turned to look at the house. No one was there.

"Let's go," Dean sighed. He hurried to the driver seat at started up his baby. Sam screamed as they pulled away. "Don't worry, Sammy. Everything's ok now."

* * *

Driving with an infant may have been bad, but driving with a toddler was a clear nightmare. Growing up the first time around, Dean had always sat next to Sam in the back of the Impala, until Sam started his rebellious phase. Sam hardly ever cried since Dean was always there to soothe him even before the tears began. He rarely ever was more than a few inches from Sam, always offering comfort and security. There was no young Dean to sit in the back with young Sam this time around. Castiel was useless – toddler Sam didn't even recognize or trust the ex-angel.

It had been almost five hours of driving, three of which were spent flying down one of the main highways in Maine, heading South. Sam had spent nearly all that time crying. Dean was ready to snap. Castiel had put on headphones and fell asleep over four-and-a-half hours ago, leaving the hunter to deal with his baby brother on his own.

Dean glanced into the rear-view mirror. "C'mon, Sammy," he begged. Sam quieted momentarily, hiccuping and whimpering. "You can't keep on like this, kiddo. We've got days of driving still before we get home. I can't listen to you crying like this the whole time."

Castiel removed his headphones, sitting up straighter and stretching a bit. "We should really stop soon, Dean. Sam is probably hungry and wet. Maybe he will sleep after."

Dean nodded, looking for an exit sign. He moved into the right lane as they zipped by one. "Sound like a plan, Sammy? Get us all some grub and get you all cleaned up?"

His eyes were still wet, but Sam hadn't started crying while the two men were talking. Dean hadn't missed that. This new version of his brother was still comforted by his big brother's voice.

Dean pulled off on the next exit. Before long he spotted a decent-looking diner. He pulled into the parking lot, taking the last stop next to the exit, perfect for a faster getaway if need be. He and Castiel hadn't stopped talking, keeping up a conversation about anything and everything to keep Sam from crying again.

Castiel went around to the trunk to grab a clean t-shirt of Dean's so they could at least clothe Sam in _something_ clean. When he moved into Dean's sight, he was holding a diaper bag, frowning.

"Did you anticipate needing this?" the ex-angel wondered.

Dean shook his head, gathering Sam out of the backseat. "Nah. I didn't think this would happen again."

"Luki!" Sam exclaimed when he spotted the diaper bag. He looked around, face dropping when he didn't find what he was looking for. "Luki?"

Dean frowned, taking the diaper bag and leading Castiel into the diner. They were seated in a booth near away from the only other patrons, an elderly couple. A young woman came over with a highchair for Sam. Dean thanked her and ordered drinks. As she left Dean placed Sam in the highchair.

"De-de!" Sam cried as soon as his brother let go of him. Tears streamed down his face and he started crying loudly.

"Damn, Sammy," Dean muttered, quickly freeing his brother from the highchair. He sat Sam on one leg and held him carefully. Sam in return grasped Dean's jacket as tightly as he could and buried his face against his big brother's chest.

The waitress arrived with their drinks after a few minutes.

"What can I get you two fellas this afternoon?" she asked, eyes on Dean.

"Cas?" Dean asked, eyes skimming the menu, most of his attention on Sam.

"I will have the meatloaf and mashed potatoes," Castiel requested.

"What vegetable would you like?" the waitress- Annie- asked.

"Mixed vegetables would be fine," Castiel answered. He handed over his menu, staring out the window.

"And you, handsome?" Annie wondered, turning her attention back to Dean.

"Um, I'll take the bacon cheeseburger deluxe with fries," Dean requested barely looking away from his little brother. "Well done. Uh, and the kids' grilled cheese with applesauce. And for an appetizer, onion rings and those potato wedge things. I'll take a chocolate milkshake, too."

The waitress nodded, eyes raking Dean's body one last time, before bouncing away.

"I believe that woman was flirting with you, Dean," Castiel noted once she was gone.

Dean looked up. "Huh? Was she? I didn't notice... I'm gonna go change Sam while we're waiting. We'll be right back."

He grabbed the diaper bag and carried Sam to the bathroom. All of his thoughts were centered around his baby brother. By fourteen months, the old Sam already spoke a handful of words. This new version only said two, both of which were barely words to begin with.

"Glad this one has a changing table," Dean said, locking the bathroom door. It was a single-occupancy restroom. One toilet, sink, changing station, and trashcan.

Dean secured Sam onto the table. He placed the diaper bag on the end, near the toddler's feet. Sam squirmed a little at first, but Dean made sure to keep contact. Sam wouldn't cry if he felt safe.

Dean pulled out everything he'd need to change his brother. This was oddly discomforting. Someone had gotten into the trunk of his Impala – his locked Impala. And into the backseat. All while they were inside the mansion looking for Sam.

A note fluttered to the ground when Dean removed a box of wipes. He bent down and read it quickly. "For Sammy, sorry I can't do more Dean. Gabriel."

Sam grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Luki!" He looked around the room, frowning again when he realized it was only the two of them there.

"Gabe is Luki?" Dean wondered, making quick work of changing his brother. "Oh! Loki! Awe, Sammy, Gabe's not gonna be around for a while. Lucifer... Lucifer has him."

"Luki!" Sam cried. Dean hurried up and finished changing Sam. He threw the dirty diaper away and washed his hands. He freed his brother and held him close. Sam quieted, fisting Dean's jacket. They returned to the table. The waitress had just dropped off the appetizers and milkshake.

"He keeps asking for Gabriel," Dean sighed, sliding into the booth opposite Castiel. "That's who Luki is."

Castiel nodded, helping himself to a potato wedge. "I had a feeling."

The two finished off the appetizers in relative silence, keeping up enough of a conversation to make sure Sam didn't start screaming again. Annie came back with their meals and took away the empty appetizers plates.

"Everything come out ok?" Annie asked a few minutes later. Dean nodded, feeding Sam some applesauce.

"Yes, thank you," Castiel answered.

Annie left, dejected. Dean hadn't paid a lick of attention to her.

Castiel finished his food first. He cut up Sam's grilled cheese while Dean finished with the applesauce.

"C'mon, Sammy," Dean sighed. "I need to eat too, kiddo. Use your fingers to eat the grilled cheese."

Sam looked up at Dean, wide puppy-eyes sad. Dean sighed again, putting down his burger. Instead he picked up one of the small squares of grilled cheese and fed it to his baby brother.

"You owe me so much once we get you back to normal," Dean warned. Sam smiled at him, chewing slowly. Dean took the time to help himself to a bite of his own burger.

They continued like this until all the food was gone. Annie came back asking if they wanted desert. Dean said no and she handed over the bill. Castiel pulled out a few bills and placed them on the receipt.

Dean carried his brother back to the car. Saw yawned at him, rubbing his eyes. "Sammy, take a nap, ok? We'll be driving for at least eight hours today, stopping only for dinner."

Sam blinked up sleepily. Dean rubbed the toddler's back until he felt him relax. It only took a few minutes before he was fast asleep.

Dean quickly strapped Sam into the car seat. He and Castiel climbed in and took off. He knew Sam wouldn't nap more than an hour, two if he was lucky. No doubt there would be more crying.

Dean wouldn't give it up for the world. He had his brother back, safe and sound. It didn't matter that he was just over a year old. Dean had him again and that's all that mattered.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? For the amount of people looking at my story, any chance I could get some more reviews? Just gotta know what's goin' through all your wonderful minds reading my story! Is there something you like to see? Something you're concerned about? Or am I just so amazing that I've left you all speechless (ok, I know that's really not possible)! **

**Next chapter either this weekend or late next week. I have like five essays/papers to write over the weekend. Which I'm spending at home. So I'm not going to be doing them then, of course...**

** By the way, it's pumpkin season!**

**-Kris-**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this chapter is so short guys. But at least it's a chapter!**

**Thank you to all who reviewed, liked, and favorited! You are all the best!**

* * *

Dean was ready to kill something. Anything.

Sam cried every time he was awake. He cried in the Impala, he cried in the hotel, he cried in restaurants and gas stations. Unless Dean was holding him, Sam was crying.

The first time around Sam was nothing like this. Granted he had big brother Dean sitting with him in the backseat then. Still, at least the purr of the Impala or Dean's or their dad's voice was always enough to settle Sam.

Now the only thing that made Sam stop crying was if Dean was actually holding him. It wasn't enough to hear Dean's voice constantly, or even just have the tiniest touch of physical contact. This version of Sam was needy.

He acted like a real baby. Like he hadn't been raised by a hunter, living a nomadic lifestyle. Even before, when their mom was still alive, Sam had _never_ acted like this.

Dean was lost.

Castiel was no help. He'd put on his headphones and read for hours. Dean knew he was doing research, trying to figure out a way to fix Sam and also a way to restore himself to full power. It still angered the hunter, though. Castiel acted as if Sam was a burden, keeping Dean and himself from what they really should be doing. Stopping the apocalypse.

Dean glared at the road. Freakin' apocalypse. The fucking angels and demons just had to mess with the human race. Why couldn't they just leave them alone? Demons should stay in Hell, the angels in Heaven. Leave the humans alone.

He sped past a sign alerting him to the next exit. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was already dark out, too late to continue on. They needed to eat and rest up. Dean at least was exhausted. He needed a break from Sam's incessant screaming and Castiel's cold silence.

Dean pulled into the right line and took the exit. He stopped at the first diner he could find. Finally, after the Impala was parked and off, Castiel looked up, confused. Headphones finally off. "Where are we?"

Dean hurried over to pull his baby brother out of the backseat. He had cried himself to sleep maybe forty-five minutes ago. The sudden cease of motion woke him up, though. Not two seconds later he was screaming again. He stopped crying right as soon as he was safe in Dean's arms once more. "Diner. Pittsburgh. Gonna stop for the night."

Castiel nodded, following Dean into the diner. They sat near the entrance. They were the only ones in the diner, at least. The waitress offered to bring a high chair over, but Dean just waved the offer off. Holding Sam throughout dinner was easier and much less noisy.

Dean ordered a beer and a steak for himself. Mac-and-cheese, milk, and carrots for Sam. Castiel went with a salad and water. The waited in silence for their food.

Another customer entered the diner. Castiel looked over. Dean ignored her, staring out the window and longing to head over to that motel and catch a few hours' rest.

"Hannah?"

"Castiel?"

Dean looked up. Suddenly his friend was up and across the diner, talking to the girl. The hunter frowned, shook his head, and turned his attention back to Sam. He had ignored the crayons the waitress brought over and was busy playing with the zipper of Dean's jacket.

A little 'pop' noise sounded, followed by a very, very sweet scent. Sam turned his head, a grin on his little face. "Luki!"

Dean's head snapped up. Sitting across the booth from him was, in fact, Gabriel. Loki. Whatever.

"What the hell?" the hunter snapped, reaching for his gun.

Gabriel smirked. "Hey Dean-o, Sammy!"

"Luki!" Sam exclaimed, attempting to wiggle out of Dean's hold. Big brother held tight.

"What are you doing here?" Dean wondered. "How did you even find us?"

"It's not hard for me to find Sammy," Gabriel answered. Sam finally stilled, content to stare at the arch-angel and just listen to his voice. "I'm here because Lucifer sent me off to do a job, and I had a chance to pop away for a quick minute. I really don't have much time before he realizes I'm not where I'm supposed to be. He can't exactly track me as far as I know, but he has eyes where I'm supposed to be and they'll report as soon as it's noticed I'm gone. Anyways, I'm just here because, um, I can tell Sammy's had... a hard time."

Dean snorted. "The only time he doesn't cry is when I'm holding him."

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, he was the same for me before you showed up. Lucifer had him changed a few days before you guys managed to arrive. Sorry about that snowstorm, but the way. Big brother's idea and all. But I got something for him that should help."

Dean's hands tightened around his gun, unwilling to trust the arch-angel. But what Gabriel produced was not what he had expected.

Gabriel lifted a small bag. He set it on the table and started pulling out different objects. A pacifier, bottle, stuffed bear (a bear-angel that looked a bit like Gabriel), a few cardboard books, and some toys that would not really be useful in a car, but should be fine back at the bunker.

"The pacifier will keep him quiet and relaxed," Gabriel explained. He smirked again. "That and the bottle. I've... hmmm, I guess blessed would be the best word? Not like a drug or anything. But he'll be comforted, as if you or I were holding him. The pacifier should keep him quiet in the car. The bottle will help him sleep. I'm assuming he hasn't been sleeping much, which means neither have you. The rest are just little gifts. I wish I could do more."

Dean just stared at the gifts. "This is... amazing, Gabe. Thanks."

Gabriel sighed, reaching out and running a hand through Sam's hair. "I want him back to normal just as much as you do, trust me. If I figure out any way to get out of Lucifer's control, I'd be able to fix this. But now I've got to get back. Gotta keep my brother busy and away from Sammy... I'll be back Dean. Bye-bye, Sammy."

Gabriel gave Dean a sad smile and vanished. Sam whimpered.

"Hey, shhhh now," Dean whispered. He grabbed the bear. "Look at what Gabe- Loki- got you."

Sam grabbed the bear. He cocked his head to the side, seeming to examine it carefully. Then he brought it against his chest and hugged it tight. "Luki..."

Dean shoved the rest of the items into the bag as the waitress finally returned with their food. Castiel and the girl came over and sat down.

Castiel picked at the salad, avoiding eye contact with Dean. The girl sat quietly, watching Dean. Dean slowly fed Sam the mac-and-cheese, a task that was almost instinctive to him. He could faintly remember doing the same thing so many years ago, in a number of different diners...

"So, Cas, whose your friend?" Dean asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Castiel pushed the salad away. "This is Hannah. She is an angel and has offered to help restore me to an angelic state."

Dean nodded slowly. "So she's gonna be joining us?"

Castiel looked down. "Um... not exactly..."

Dean frowned. He brought the carrots close to Sam, trying to get him to pick up food himself. "What, exactly, then?"

"Castiel will come with me," Hannah announced. "We must return to Heaven to restore him."

"You're leaving me?" Dean questioned, hurt. He quickly his the emotion on his face. "What the hell, man. My little brother's a _baby_ and you're gonna up and leave me?"

Castiel nodded, his whole face sad. "Yes, Dean, I must. The sooner my powers are restored, the sooner I can actually help with Sam and Lucifer."

Dean sighed. _Leave me to deal with this and the freakin' apocalypse. Figures. _"Whatever, Cas. How long will this take?"

"I am unsure," Hannah said. "We are following the trail of a rumor..."

"Whoah, hold up!" Dean ordered. "You're leaving me for a _rumor_?"

"Bye-bye!" Sam exclaimed, throwing a carrot at Castiel. Dean smirked, forcing himself not to laugh at the indignant look received by the powerless angel. Castiel glared down at Sam.

"That was rude," Hannah observed. "Dean, are you not going to punish him for that?"

Dean snorted. "Punish him? He's fourteen months old. A baby. He doesn't know right from wrong yet. Won't for another year or two."

"But I thought he was your brother," Hannah mused. "Sam Winchester. He should behave like an adult."

Dean rolled his eyes, feeding the rest of the carrots to Sam since he wasn't about to do it himself. "Lucifer did something or other and the adult Sam is nowhere to be found. This Sam is one-hundred percent new, doesn't even respond to the same things as normal Sam did as a baby."

"This is so strange," Hannah stated.

"You're telling me," Dean sighed. He switched his gaze over to Castiel. "So when are you leaving?"

Castiel looked at Hannah. "Now, I guess."

Hannah nodded. "The sooner we leave, the sooner Castiel will be able to return."

"Go," Dean muttered. "You know where to find me when you get back."

Castiel gave Dean a sad smile. "I am truly sorry, Dean. But this is very important..."

"I know, I know," Dean replied dismissively. "Just go."

Castiel vanished with Hannah.

"De-de?" Sam asked. "Bye-bye?"

Dean finished his beer, ignoring his steak. He wasn't hungry anymore. "I'm not leavin' you," he promised. "We're gonna go get a room now. Time for bed."

Sam looked up thoughtfully. For a moment Dean thought he saw his Sam in there, but it was gone quickly by a tired, cranky toddler.

Dean paid and put Sam in the car. Instantly he started crying. Dean pulled out the pacifier, considering it. Sam had never used one before. Their dad hadn't wanted to go through the trouble of breaking Sam from it the first time. But this time around Dean wasn't too sure he could go much longer without killing someone if the crying didn't stop.

Mind made up, Dean slipped the pacifier into Sam's mouth. The baby paused for a second, unsure of the new object. But then he looked up at Dean, eyes open and peaceful, sucking happily.

"If only I had that thing all along," Dean mumbled, starting up his Impala. He glanced back at Sam, who was cuddling with the angel-bear.

Maybe now he could handle this. At least for a little while longer. Just until Castiel could get back with some answers.

* * *

**Yeah, so it's a short chapter. I wanted to do more, but it's been like a week and you guys deserve a chapter. At least the next one- hopefully- will be longer.**

**Review! Comments, concerns, questions are all welcome. I love hearing from y'all!**

**-Kris-**


	9. Chapter 9

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**Sorry it's been so long. School, finals, you know. This chapter is shorter than I'd like, but it's better than nothing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SPN characters...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Dean drank himself to sleep that night, after putting Sam to sleep in a crib with his pacifier and teddy bear angel. He just couldn't handle all this. Sam turned into a baby. Castiel leaving him. Hell, even Gabriel was practically Lucifer's slave. Who else did he have now?

That morning Dean woke to a pounding headache. Well, it was actually close to afternoon. He'd slept for nearly twelve hours.

"God _dammit_," Dean cursed, throwing a hand over his eyes. "Fucking sun!"

His phone rang, an annoying little tune. Blindly Dean picked it up and accepted the call. "What?"

"_Nice to talk to you too, boy._"

"Bobby?" Dean asked groggily. He lowered his arm and sat up slowly.

"_Castiel called me a few days ago. Said to expect a call from you. Said it was important."_

"Fuck," Dean groaned. He looked around the room as if realizing he was in a motel. "Ugh, yeah, meant to call..."

"_What's going on, Dean?"_

Dean's eyes stopped on the crib. Sam was sitting up, looking right at him, as if waiting to be taken care of. The pacifier was still in his mouth.

"Dammit, Sammy..." Dean muttered as he stood up. "God, I'm so sorry."

"_DEAN? What's going on?"_

"Huh? Bobby?" Dean asked, distracted. He picked up Sam with one arm, running a hand through the toddler's curly locks. "I'm so sorry, Sammy. Damn, I'm so bad at this..."

"_Dean, please, tell me what happened. What are you so bad at?"_

Dean looked around, badly hungover. Sam just snuggled up against him, head resting on his shoulder. "Bobby. Right. Um, we've got... a problem."

"_Well I could'a guess that, ya' idgit. Gotta be a bit more specific."_

Dean sat Sam on the table, his back against the wall. "Stay," he ordered. His brother smiled and didn't move. Dean grabbed some food from the leftovers and warmed it up. "Bobby... Lucifer. _Lucifer_ changed Sam into a _toddler_."

The microwave beeped. Dean sat at the table and pulled Sam onto his lap. He fed his baby brother the warm mac-and-cheese slowly.

"_A toddler? How you holdin' up, kid?"_

"My brother's a toddler and you want to know how _I'm_ holding up?" Dean questioned.

"_Well, I'm assuming he's holding up as well as he did all those years ago the first time. I'm more concerned about you, boy. But it doesn't sound like your holdin' up too well."_

Dean groaned. "Bobby, I need help. I can't do this. Cas left me..."

Bobby sighed. _"Are you at the bunker?"_

"Not yet, but we're heading there," Dean answered. "I'll make it there late tonight."

"_Don't push yourself, Dean. You need to stay healthy and functioning. Sam ain't gonna be happy to find out if you've been killin' yourself while he's in this state. Take your time with the drive. I'll meet you boys at the bunker, get it cleaned up. Just don't do anything stupid, boy."_

"Yeah, Bobby, thanks," Dean mumbled into the phone. Bobby ended the call and Dean tossed the phone onto the bed. "Sammy, ready to head out?"

"De-de!" Sam replied, grinning. Dean gave the kid back his pacifier and stuck him in the crib while he packed up. "Bobby's gonna come help us figure things out. We're real lucky, Sammy."

* * *

Dean made it back to the bunker in just over forty-eight hours. The drive should have taken less than half that. But Dean didn't want Sam to suffer, alone, in the backseat for any longer than needed. They made regular stops nearly every hour. Stopped overnight for ten hours. Took hour-long meal breaks.

Dean had picked up a little backpack at one of their stops and filled it with things to keep his little brother occupied. Coloring books, board books, small toys he could play with on the tray of his car seat. A snack cup full of Lucky Charms and a sippy cup of apple juice. Crayons and paper. And of course, the angel bear and his pacifier.

Sam didn't cry at all.

Dean drank himself to sleep both nights they stopped over after talking to Bobby. He'd wake up to a phone call from the older man, demanding an update. It was always during the phone call that Dean would realize Sam was sitting up in the crib, looking at him. Waiting to be changed, fed, cared for. Dean couldn't bring himself to speak in the mornings, the pounding headache that always accompanied a hangover forcing him to silence. It wasn't until his third cup of coffee that he could even summon the energy to be the caretaker.

They pulled up to the bunker two hours after their final hotel. It had already been late and Dean needed to sleep, and a drink or four. Bobby was waiting in the garage, arms folded as Dean stepped out. The older hunter could see the hangover in the younger's eyes.

"Your little brother is a baby and you've been drinking yourself to sleep?" Bobby demanded. Dean cringed as he pulled Sam out of the Impala. "What were you thinking? What if something happened? You were probably dead to the world all night! Sam coulda..."

"Yeah, Bobby, I know," Dean mumbled. He led the way into the bunker. "I screwed up. Got it. But... this is too much for me."

Bobby rolled his eyes. He guided Dean into the living room. The younger man placed Sam on the ground and fell back onto the couch.

"Suck it up, boy," Bobby snapped. "Sam needs you and you gotta man up. Go take a shower. I'll get lunch ready."

Dean nodded, leaving his brother and father-figure behind. What he needed more than anything was this time to himself, without Sam. He hadn't been able to do much the last few days, fearing leaving Sam vulnerable. At least here he was safe and Bobby would watch out for him.

* * *

Nearly a month went by before Dean heard from Gabriel. He and Sam had a good routine down by then: wake up at seven, breakfast, playtime, lunch at eleven thirty, naptime at noon, wake-up at two, playtime, dinner at six, playtime, bath at eight, bedtime at nine. Sometimes Dean would take Sam to the park or zoo. They'd go shopping once in a while with Bobby too. No hunting. Bobby didn't take any jobs, either. He'd helped some other hunters with some jobs, using the vast resources that the bunker offered, but he refused to leave Dean alone. So long as Bobby was there, Dean could hold himself together. He hadn't even thought about drinking since that night in the hotel.

It was Christmas Eve when Gabriel appeared in the park Dean had taken Sam to. Bobby was back at the bunker, cooking dinner and wrapping presents.

Gabriel looked like a six-year-old this time. He grinned up at Dean and handed him a wooden box.

"Gabriel?" Dean asked, confused as he accepted the box. "What… Why… How…?"

Gabriel smirked, looking around for Sam. "Where's Sammy?"

"Uh… sandbox…" Dean answered slowly. Gabriel nodded and ran off to the sandbox, a mere twenty feet from the bench Dean sat on.

Dean unlatched the box. Inside was a very bright, glowing jar. There was also a small note, which he read quickly. _Deano-o! If you're reading this I'm assuming mini-me has arrived. This jar is my grace. It's the only way to get away from Lucifer and keep him away from you guys. I've kept a small part in me, so I can still collect the rest later with minimal pain. My guess is I won't remember much about being an angel. I'll probably be mostly, if not completely, human when you read this. Oh, DON'T OPEN THE JAR. Seriously, until this thing is over. Cas will know when. Gabriel._

Dean sighed and shut the jar. He shoved it in his diaper bag and turned his attention to the boys. Sam was squealing happily, babbling to Gabriel mostly in baby talk with a few real words thrown in. Gabriel was showing Sam how to build a sandcastle, grinning widely and completely at east.

If only Cas were here, things would be practically perfect.

* * *

**Well, it's better than nothing, right? Hopefully I can get another chapter out in a week. I had actually planned this entire story out, but I left my plans in my dorm... So I'm winging it for a month. I've also got another story in-the-works, which I won't be posting any time soon. I've got 77 pages pre-written already though! Wanna finish this one first at least.**

**I hope you enjoy your Christmas! And of course Hanukkah if that's what you celebrate instead! Maybe I'll have another chapter up by the new year, but no promises. Don't forget to tell me what you think!**

**-Kris-**


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally another chapter! Sorry about the wait. Enjoy!**

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Dean woke up, excited for once. Growing up, he personally hadn't placed much value on Christmas. Sam, on the other hand, had always been much more into the holidays. And John had simply never been around this time of year. They boys had always managed to get each other one or two gifts, usually handmade stuff. A couple times something that resembled a Christmas tree was put together by Sam in whatever stuffy motel room they happened to be in. Dean always did his best to get together enough food for a decent holiday meal. Together they'd celebrate the best they could. So long as the boys were together, the holidays were perfect.

This Christmas was different. It was their first in a place that Dean truly considered home. Bobby had outdone himself, wanting to give the boys the Christmas they'd never had. The eldest hunter had gone out and gotten a large pine tree and decorated it with actual Christmas decorations he'd found deep in the bunker. Over the weeks Bobby and Dean had gone out and bought various gifts for everyone.

Dean went into Sam's nursery after a few minutes. His baby brother was awake, still lying down in his crib. He was staring up at the mobile Dean had picked out, one with classic cars that he'd rigged to play soft jazz. When Dean entered his line of site, he grinned around his pacifier and lifted his arms up.

Dean returned the grin. "Hey baby boy," he cooed, picking up his brother and taking him straight to the changing table. The change was quick, Dean didn't even have to think about it anymore. Sam was quiet and still the whole time, whispering "Gwabe?" once Dean was done.

Dean laughed softly, swinging his brother and moving over to Gabriel's bed. He held Sam over the sleeping child-angel and let Sam beat his tiny fists against Gabriel's chest. "Up! Gwabe! Up!" he ordered, shrieking in laughter.

Gabriel woke up slowly, blinking and smiling sleepily at Sam. Suddenly he grinned and looked up at Dean. "It's Christmas!" he exclaimed.

Dean nodded. "It sure is!" he replied. Sam grinned and clapped his hands. Dean bent down and lifted Gabriel off the bed. "C'mon, let's go wake up Bobby so we can open presents!"

"Bob-ob!" Sam cried as Dean entered Bobby's room. "Up! Up!"

"It's Christmas!" Gabriel added.

"C'mon, Grandpa," Dean added teasingly. "The kiddos want their gifts."

Bobby was already awake, just pretending to be sleeping for the kids. "Ugh, I'm so sure they're the only ones excited to open presents."

Dean smirked at the pointed look the older hunter gave him. "Hey, what can I say? I've never celebrated like this before."

Bobby just nodded and got out of bed. Dean carried the two kids down to the living room. Sam squealed when he saw the tree and presents, wiggling in Dean's arms to be put down.

"I remember the first Christmas," Gabriel announced, sitting next to Dean by the tree. Bobby was out making a pot of coffee.

"Yeah?" Dean replied, pulling Sam onto his lap and giving him the first present.

"Mmmm-hmmm," Gabriel affirmed, blonde curls bouncing on his head as he nodded. "The official Bible story is pretty true. I'm the one who told Mary, who was really a virgin, that she was gonna give birth to Jesus. Told Elizabeth about her son, too."

"You really remember all that?" Dean wondered.

Gabriel nodded. "I don't know why. Probably 'cuz today's the day we celebrate the birth. He wasn't really born today, ya'know?"

Dean nodded, giving Sam another present to open and passing one to Gabriel. "Kinda figured that out a while back. Open some presents, Gabe."

Gabriel grinned and tore into the gifts for him. Bobby came back into the room with two mugs of steaming coffee, passing one to Dean.

"I can't believe you actually went out on Christmas Eve," Dean mused, nursing his coffee.

"Wasn't gonna let that kid miss out on Christmas," Bobby responded, grinning at Sam who was excitedly showing him a new toy. "All he's done for you boys, he deserves it."

"Dean-o!" Gabriel exclaimed. He thrust a neatly wrapped package into Dean's free hand. "This's for you!"

Dean placed his empty mug on the ground behind him and unwrapped the heavy gift. Sam watched him, fascinated. "Book!" he exclaimed when Dean finally pulled the last of the wrap away.

Dean nodded, frowning. "Yeah, Sammy, it's a book…"

The cover was blank, the front and back a thick and soft combination of worn leather. Flipping through the book, Dean discovered not a single English word. Photos filled many pages, all black-and-white, some grainy and barely observable. Some of the photos had small children in them, others were different creatures, some Dean had never seen before.

"Bobby?" the hunter asked. "Did you get me this?"

Bobby shook his head, a hand scratching his beard. "No. Never seen it before. Come to think of it, that package weren't there last night."

Gabriel grinned. "I found it!" he stated happily.

"Where?" Dean wondered.

"Dunno," Gabriel shrugged. "Can me and Sammy play?"

Dean nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll make breakfast."

Bobby followed Dean to the kitchen after cleaning up the scraps of wrapping paper littered all over the living room. "Here, boy, got ya' this," the older hunter said, thrusting a package into Dean's arms.

Dean grinned as he opened the box. "Bobby!" he exclaimed. He examined the engraved .44 caliber Dragoon pistol.

"Straight from the Civil War," Bobby announced. "Caleb had found it on a hunt years back in a Confederate grave. Had it restored, too. Shoots like a gem."

"I can't wait to shoot this baby," Dean murmured. He sighed, placing the gun out of reach of little hands and turned back to the stove. "Sam would'a told me everything 'bout this gun and his owner, the battle and whatnot."

Bobby nodded, pulling out orange juice and sippy cups. "We'll get your brother back to normal soon enough, Dean."

"I hope so," the younger hunter sighed. "I really do."

* * *

Dean knew it was only a matter of time before the peace they'd experienced would come to an end. Christmas had been awesome. Sam and Gabriel had loved their gifts and had spent the last few days playing with them and each other happily. The boys had even done a few art projects for Dean and Bobby.

It had all started with sniffles. Which turned into a cough. Which turned into a cold. Which rather quickly turned into the flue and a trip to the hospital.

Bobby had left the day after Christmas. He had some stuff he had to do back at home and promised to be home by New Years. Dean figured he'd be fine with two kids for a few days.

But then Sammy got sick.

"Dean-o!" Gabriel yelled, running into the study where Dean was busy trying to make sense of the book he'd received. So far he wasn't having much luck.

"What's wrong, Gabe?" Dean asked.

"Sammy!" Gabriel exclaimed. "He keeps shakin' all over!"

Dean cursed, dropping the book, and ran to the nursery. Sam was in his crib, convulsing. He stopped a few seconds after Dean's arrival. "Gabe, we gotta go to the hospital," Dean stated.

Dean gathered Sam in his arms and followed the little angel out to the Impala. Sam opened his eyes when he was placed in the car seat, tears dripping down his face. "Unnngh, De-de…" he mumbled, coughing harshly.

"Shhh, I know, little brother," Dean whispered, brushing back Sam's sweaty hair. "Gabe's right here, next to you. We're goin' to the hospital."

Dean drove as fast he dared, which was nowhere near his ideal speed. Two kids and snow kept him going far below the speed limit.

It took longer than he'd like to admit to arrive at the nearest children's hospital, but he did finally make it. Sam was coughing weakly in his seat, Gabriel holding his little hand. Dean rushed the boys into the emergency room, shouting for help. Within a minute Sam was taken from Dean and placed on a hospital bed and taken away. A stack of papers was placed in Dean's hands.

Gabriel bounced nervously in his chair next to Dean. A nurse tried to distract him with books and toys, but the little angel would have none of that.

Half an hour went by after Dean finished filling out the paperwork. He called Bobby, who promised to be back as soon as he could. Once that call was done he went in search of _anyone_ who could give him information about Sam.

"Mr. Winchester, please sit down," a nurse finally requested. "Your son is in good hands. It'll be just a few more minutes. The doc's running some tests. Soon as we get the results we'll let you in to see Sam. Fifteen minutes, tops."

Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

_Fifteen minutes_. Dean sighed again. _Longest wait of my life._

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**Yeah, sorry about the wait. I just had some writer's block and such. Now that school is back in session I'll probably be able to write more. My best ideas always seem to come during classes! I hope y'all had a great holiday and whatnot. I lost the paper that had my outline for this story, so now I'm making it up as we go along. Bear with me lovely people!**

**Reviews make me happy!**

**Carry on ~**

**Kris**


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